


Our Strange Differences

by RachelleFaucet



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, Galra Altean, Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, altea, galra - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 12:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 44,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11646303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RachelleFaucet/pseuds/RachelleFaucet
Summary: Lance is fed up. In all his years, he has only known life inside the Castle of Lions. As he described it, a prison cell disguised as an extravagant home for the royal. He longs to get away, but his newly crowned sister, Allura won't have it. So, against her younger brothers wishes, she hires a bodyguard to keep him 'safe' inside the castle. But, the new guard turns out to be... odd. Not quite Altean, not quite Galran. Compared to Lance and the rest of the empire, one could say Keith has many strange differences.Altea Dictionary:TICK: secondDOBASH: minuetVARGA: hourQUINTENT: dayQUIZNAK: Altean curse wordGROGGERIES: currencyTELUDAV: a device which uses scaultrite from the Weblum to create wormholes.SLOVEN-DAY-HO: goneWAZN: the Altean star (not cannon)PURPLE JUNIBERRY: a type of Altean flowerALTEANS: Altea inhabitantsGALRA: Lord Zarkon's race which fought against the Alteans





	1. Little Troll, Wear The Mask

* * *

Lance waddled across the flowerbed of purple juniberrys. His stubby little toddler legs did their absolute best to keep him up and steady. They weren't the best trained however, and occasionally gave in to letting Lance fall. His father, King Alfor and sister, Princess Allura sat next to one another atop a regal purple blanket, laughing and chatting away. But Lance, not understanding most of what the older Alteans were saying, decided to have a little adventure of his own.

As Lance walked, looking to and fro for some sort of entertainment, he hummed the melody of his favorite nursery rhyme. " _Little Troll_ ", as his teacher taught it. He didn't know much of what the lyrics meant, but always loved to hop and dance to the beat. " _Little Troll, Little Troll, Don't mind your family. They love you, so long as you hide._ " He sung, urging his stubby legs to move faster beneath him.

Lance ran to the mossy garden wall. He laughed, and continued to sing as his hand ran across the sturdy, brick surface. He always wondered why it was here, and why he couldn't get past it. From his bedroom window, he saw so much beyond the wall. But sadly, that's all he could do. Stare longingly to the world beyond, which seemed so close, yet so far from reach. The young adventurer Lance tried many times to find away past. Alas, the wall was always there to halt his pursuit.

" _Little Troll, Little Troll..._ " Lance continued his song, looking suspiciously at an up and coming bush. It wasn't like the others. Untrimmed and messy, stuck in the far corner of their ever so expansive royal garden. " _Can't possibly love ugly children_..." He continued in a mutter, inching closer and closer to the overgrown bush. "Hide that hideous face, shield their glaring eyes."

The bush rustled. Lance jumped back, nearly falling. The troll, he thought. It must be him! The song must have attracted it somehow.

The stealthy Lance, staying his absolute quietest with a bubble in his mouth, tiptoed toward the hedge. " _Wear the mask, wear the mask..._ " He held his arms in front of him in a defensive gesture. " _You are unlike them, so you wear the mask of beauty. But you pay a hefty fee._ "

Lance reached out, and grabbed one of the branches. His pudgy fingers could barely wrap around it. He pulled it back, and ducked his head into the bush. There was just barely enough room to maneuver between the mess of twisted wood and leaves. Lance adventured far into the hedge, as he whispered the final verse of the nursery rhyme. " _Wear the mask, wear the mask... Over that face of shame, so love comes unconditionally._ "

Lance saw a flash of purple behind one of the messes of leaves. He gasped, and quickly pushed the plant out of the way. Behind, he found a hole. It was only about the size of about Lance's head, and had vines twisting around the edges. On the other side, he met the gaze of something incredible. A child! And one of which Lance had never seen before. He had furry purple skin, and glowing yellow eyes. His pupils were dark blueish, and he had a single pointy, snagged tooth hanging from the right side of his lip. He had slightly darker purple hair, and was wearing tattered brown rags. A great contrast to Lance's fancy blue armor, and glistening gold cape. "A troll!" Lance exclaimed enthusiastically.

The purple boy gave Lance a puzzled look. "Troll?" He asked. "I'm not a troll."

Lance smile stretched from ear to ear. "Of course you are. You're Little Troll, like the song." Lance was so excited. He had never seen an actual troll before! They weren't at all like he had imagined. A lot prettier, that was for sure. Prettier, and more purple looking.

The purple boy frowned once more. "I'm not a troll... I'm Altean."

Lance's eyes widened. Altean! But he was Altean too! So was Allura, his father, and all of the other residents in the Castle of Lions. None of them looked quite like this boy did however. "I didn't know Alteans could be purple!"

"I'm the only one." He explained, moving his face closer to the hole. "That's what Mom said."

"Whoa!" Lance gasped. This was such a shocking revelation. A fluffy, purple Altean... How could this be? It was as if Lance's knowledge of the world, had just doubled in size in this single instance. It was the first time he had the opportunity to talk with an outsider, and already he knew so much more! How many colors were there? Blue, green, red! There was likely hundreds... No, dozens of different possibilities! "What color is she?" Lance asked curiously, addressing the purple Altean's mom.

The boy looked up, likely trying his best to remember how the color was pronounced. "Um... Pe- Peach? I think that's it."

Peach... Just like their royal adviser, Coran. That was a normal shade, which many other Alteans possessed. "How are you purple then? Shapeshifting?"

The boy shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders. His tattered brown blanket, which he used for a shawl, blew in the wind. "No. I don't know. Mom won't tell me."

"Hmm..." The gears in Lance's head were churning. "What's your name?"

"Keith."

"Ke- Keef?"

"No! Keith! Keeeeiiiiiiith."

"Keeeeeeeeefffffffff?"

The boy sighed, and nodded. "Close enough."

"My name is Lance." Lance responded, puffing his chest out proudly. "Prince Lance of Altea. And my dad is the king."

"King Alfor?" Keith gasped.

Lance gleamed with pride. "Yeah. And my sister is Allura, the princess."

Keith's jaw dropped, his yellow eyes glistening. His pointy purple ears perked up, and toothy smile widened. Lance was glad to see his new friend so happy. "I'm talking with a prince?" Keith gasped. He attempted to come closer, but the thick stone wall would not allow it. "I've never talked with royalty before!"

If only the hole was bigger. Then Lance could see the outside clearer. "I've never talked with a villager before!"

"Never?"

"Not until now!" Lance jumped up and down excitably. He wanted to know everything. About the village houses, the people, the plants and animals. Absolutely everything! It was a strange world out there. Like traveling from one planet to another. If only there was some way to get past this wall...

An idea flicked in Lance's head. "Keef!" He yelped suddenly. "Can you get me out of here?"

"Why would you want to?" Keith's fluffy ears twitched.

"Because... Because it's boring!" Lance answered, swinging his arms in the air for extra emphasis. They hit the tangled branches of the bush, giving Lance a nasty scratch. He couldn't bother to care however. "It's terrible. They keep me in here, and never let me see anything!"

"But, nowhere is better than a palace!" Keith countered.

"But... but..." Lance stuttered. He wasn't too good at coming up with arguments yet. "It is so small. The planet... It is so big. But I can't see any of it."

Keith once again looked up, getting lost in thought. A few ticks later, he looked back at Lance and shrugged. "How?"

"Hmm..." Lance mumbled. What could be done? He had no clue... Still, there had to be a way. Maybe someone else could help. Someone, like an adult... "Keef! How about your mom?"

"Huh? What about her?"

"Can she get me out of here? Can you ask her?"

"She's back at home... I'm not sure. I can ask."

Lance nodded, his giddy grin doubling in size. "Met me back here at..."

"When the Wazn reaches strait up?"

"Yes!" Lance agreed. He didn't really know when that would be, but didn't have any knowledge on time to suggest something different. He just needed to watch Wazn (the Altea star) really closely. But not too closely, because King Alfor had warned him about blindness after watching it for too long.

Keith smiled. His fang like teeth were now fully on display. Lance wondered what he did to make them so incredibly sharp. "See you soon, Lance!" Keith waved his taloned paw.

"Bye, bye!" Lance waved back.

Keith rushed off, disappearing from Lance's view. No more than a tick later, he heard a distant voice calling out for him. "Lance? Where are you?" It was Allura, his older sister.

Lance pushed out of the shrub, back into the garden. When Allura saw him, she gasped. "Lance! You're all filthy!"

Lance looked down at his cloths and arms. She was right! Moving around in that bush must have done it. His clothes and hair were entangled with leaves and shrubbery, as well as mud smeared on his light brown skin, and fancy prince getup. Now he looked like a troll! "Um..." He mumbled, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse. (He couldn't). "Whoops."

"Whoops?" Allura's nostrils flared, and fist clenched. "You mess around in a bush, and all you have to say for it is, whoops?"

Lance paused, nervously tapping his little finger against his leg. "Um.... Yes?"

"That's it! You're coming back inside with me. No more picnics for you!" Allura, who was only a little bit bigger than her little brother, attempted to lift him in her arms. She did it with great ease, like any good, strong Altean princess, and carried him back to their picnicking spot. There, King Alfor was waiting for them both. Allura huffed, and placed Lance down right in front of him. "Father! Look at Lance! He got himself all dirty!"

King Alfor inspected his sons muddy face, and leaf infested white hair. Instead of Allura's expected reaction however, the king chuckled. Both kids looked at each other in shock. "Well, well, well." The king said in his deep, fatherly voice. "Looks like Lance has grown to be quite an adventurer. Maybe one day, when he's old enough, he will take over my role as a mighty Paladin of Voltron."

Allura's jaw dropped. "Lance? But- but... Him? He's much too... disobedient! How could he ever... It's an insane thought!"

King Alfor's eyebrows furrowed, and arms crossed. (Not a good sign). "Now, Allura! Don't you dare say those terrible things about your brother! Lance is perfectly capable of becoming whatever he pleases. A Paladin, a knight, a baker. Whatever he chooses, is what he will be."

"But, he's a prince!" Allura complained irritably. "He's second in line for king! He can't just be whatever!"

"Sure he can!" Alfor stood, making himself tower far above both Allura and Lance. "And so can you. If you choose not to be queen, that is. There are still many others in line for the throne."

"But! But..." It seemed Allura had nothing else to say. Her head drooped down in shame. "Sorry."

King Alfor offered her a reassuring smile. "All is forgiven, my child. Now, let's not fight any longer, and get back inside. Mother is waiting."

"Yes sir." Both children nodded in unison.

***

When Wazn was directly overhead, Lance raced out to the garden, and found the previous untrimmed hedge. As he pushed himself past the branches, he payed no mind to his newly cleaned clothing. He didn't like the tightly fit, and uncomfortable suit anyhow. He would much prefer to be naked, if his family wasn't so against it. "Keef? Keeeeef?" He called, squinting his eyes to find the previously discovered hole in the wall. Lance saw a flash of purple, and gasped. "Keef!" He grinned giddily, and raced over.

When he moved a few more leaves from his view, Lance was met with the familiar purple face of Keith. But, he didn't look like he had previously. Instead of the smiling face as Lance remembered, Keith wore a droopy, saddened expression. "Keef?" Lance asked, worried. "What's wrong?"

"I can't be here." He responded, backing away timidly.

"Wha- what?" Lance's eyes began to water. "But... Why?"

"My mom..." Keith stuttered. It was obvious he couldn't find the right words to explain. "I'm sorry... I have to go..."

Before Lance could say another word, Keith rushed off. He wasn't seen by Lance for many years to come.

***

Many decades later, the now teenage Lance was sitting lazily on his throne, facing the crowd of regal guests, and servants with trays of food. Parties were always the worst. All he could actually do during them, was sit on his throne, and watch as the elderly guests chat about politics and other boring junk. All that made up for them, was the food. The cooks put their best foot forward every time so many guests showed up. Even with that, Allura would always tell him to not eat so much, unless he wanted to grow fat. "What's so bad about being fat?" He would complain, stuffing another tray worth of food in his mouth, swallowing it down with one gulp.

But this party? Ten times worse than all the previous combined. He didn't even know the purpose of it, and all he was supposed to do was sit on his throne bored out of his mind. Allura was also on her throne, opposite King Alfor's and the queen's, which were in the center. Of course, his mom's throne hadn't been used in years. After she died when he was still only a kid, layers of dust began piling atop the blue, unused cushion.

"Attention!" King Alfor raised from his throne, and called the guests attention. He wore two golden gauntlets, and a tall crown atop his white mane of hair. He looked more regal than usual. Even considering the many fancy events he had attended before. Whatever this party was for, it was likely something really important. If only Lance knew what that purpose was. But alas, no one bothered to say.

The king continued, the ballroom now giving him their full attention. "Thank you all for coming here today. As you know, just recently, something big occurred. Our fight against Lord Zarkon and his enemy forces have been won. Thanks to the Alteans, our many allies, and Voltron of course, the reign of tyranny has come to an end. And finally, after decades of terror, we can all finally rest, and enjoy our newly freed galaxy."

A wave of cheers came from the onlookers. Allura also clapped her hands together, and smiled proudly at her father. A dobash passed before Alfor raised his gauntlet, and waited for quiet. "Yes, we are all quite excited. And I would just like to thank, not only our fleets and those of us who lost their lives, but also our allies who risked so much to bring Zarkon down. And that does include the Galran soldiers who risked their own lives to rebel against Zarkon's devilish deeds."

This time, no one cheered. Not even Allura, who looked more irritated now than joyful. Lance couldn't blame her however. It was the Galra who took their mother's life. Still, Lance didn't think it fair to categorize them all as killers. There were so many good Galra who fought alongside the Altean empire after all.

King Alfor cleared his throat, and continued. "But, I have greater news to announce today. As you know, my dearest daughter, Princess Allura, has officially become an adult after meeting her one hundredth birthday just a few quintents ago." Allura stood, and everyone praised her with cheers and claps.

King Alfor motioned Allura to come closer. She took her place beside her father, her tiara gleaning with jewels, and her shiny blue cape dragged behind her gown. She looked just like a queen. Alfor placed his hand on her shoulder, and smiled proudly. "Look at her. She looks just like her mother. Bless her soul. Though it's sad, seeing Allura like this makes me almost excited to announce my retirement."

Lance practically fell from his chair. What did he just say? Retirement? Allura looked out to the crowd, her face glowing with pride.

"Yes, indeed." Alfor took his gauntleted hand from Allura's shoulder, and raised his arms in the air. "You are all here today, because I would like to announce my daughters up and coming coronation!"

Allura bowed her head humbly. Lance watched in horror. Dad... King Alfor, was no longer going to be king? But... why? It wasn't as though he were old! Well, middle aged perhaps, but definitely not old enough to step down! And Allura. She was still so young. Her hundredth birthday was only a few quintents ago for Voltron sake! All throughout the history of Altea, there has never been such a young ruler. Lance stood, and stealthily took a standing on the other side of his father. "Father..." He mumbled, while the subjects continued to cheer away. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Son!" Alfor gleamed. He placed a hand on his shoulder, and answered in a hushed voice. "I wanted it to be a surprise. Not just for our quests, but you as well. It's a historic moment!"

Lance brushed his father's hand off his shoulder. "But, I'm the prince. Don't I have any say in the matter?"

"Any say?" Alfor looked confused. "But you have always known that Allura will one day have to step up and take the position. It was inevitable, it just came faster than we anticipated."

Lance felt a lump beginning to form in his throat. He couldn't believe it. True, he didn't have a great relationship with his father as Allura did, but not warning Lance beforehand? That didn't seem like a very fatherly thing to do. Everything King Alfor did, didn't seem very fatherly to Lance. Putting his kingdom before his own kids, never giving them the time of day. Ever since the war with the Galra started all those years ago, King Alfor no longer seemed to have the time to go on picnics, or have family meals as he used to. He became less of a Dad, and more of a king. And kings have responsibilities. Kids aren't one of them.

Lance fidgeted with his cape, as Alfor concluded his speech. Afterwards, the guests went back to chatting, and Allura took her place back on the throne. Lance saw her eye the queens seat sadly. She was likely imagining herself in that exact chair, just as her mom had been.

Two long, drawn out vargas later, the party ended, and Lance was finally allowed freedom. He imminently ran to the garden, and climbed to the top of the mossy brick wall. He looked out towards the village below, and the luminescent glow coming from each window, lighting up the night sky. Lance then turned his attention up. The stars glistened brightly overhead. He wanted to reach out and touch them, but knew that was a fantastical thought. There was no way he would be allowed up there. Especially after Allura's coronation. If he thought she was strict before, he did not want to imagine how she would act as a ruler. She would likely have him locked up in a prison cell, saying it was only for his 'safely'. Yeah, right. The Castle Of Lions felt like a prison already. A really big, fancy prison, but one nevertheless.

Quite a time later, Lance finally jumped down, and headed back towards the castle. He stopped mid-step however, a crazy thought popping in his head. Would anyone notice if he fell asleep out here?

After a tick of consideration, Lance decided to do it. He laid himself in the middle of the field of wild juniberries, and closed his eyes. The grass felt wonderful beneath him. So soft, but not in the artificial way his mattress was. It felt completely organic, and he loved the smell of the flowers and nature surrounding him. It wasn't long until Lance found himself drifting off in a deep, peaceful slumber.


	2. Some Complete Stranger

After Allura's coronation, Lance found himself doing nothing else but staring blankly out over the garden wall, and imagining how life would be without a crown. Perhaps better, perhaps worse, he couldn't tell since he had never experienced it, or even witnessed that sort of living before. Still, what was worse? A life of work, of a life of boredom. A life of discovery, or a life of longing. 

As the old saying went, the more one has, the less precious things become. And Lance had hell of a lot of things. Fancy housing, fancy clothing, butlers, maids, every servant imaginable, and yet he longed to get rid of it all. To prepare his own food, to choose his own clothes, to live in a small, yet ever so humble sized home. To meet all different sorts of people. And not the old, rich geezers that Alfor always invited to the castle. Lance wanted to meet all sorts of interesting personalities, and lifestyles. Not only Alteans, but all species.

"Lance?" Allura called from below. 

Lance looked down, to meet the gaze of his newly crowned sister, Allura. She looked small from atop the wall, yet her ballgown shone bright, making her hard to miss. Great... She was the last person he wanted to see at the moment. "Yes? Can I help you, your majesty?"

"You can begin by getting off that wall." She responded, folding her arms across her chest. "So you won't fall, and break your neck. We can't afford to lose our next in line for the throne."

Lance groaned. Yep, that was the exact response he expected whenever he did something remotely dangerous. For some reason, Allura had it in her head that something terrible was inevitably going to happen, forcing Lance to step up as King. Something that Lance would absolutely despise. He could barely manage his hair, how was he supposed to rule over an entire empire? Allura was best for the job. She defiantly took after their father. 

"What is it?" Lance asked, paying Allura's instructions no mind. "Are you here to stick me in a cell?"

"What? A cell? What in the world are you talking about? Of course not..." Allura paused, and eyed her brother suspiciously. "Is there a reason why I might?"

"Perhaps..." Lance answered, though he was only joking around. It was kinda hard to cause any trouble with servants breathing down his neck every moment of his life. "What is it?"

"Lance..." Allura nervously clenched, and unclenched her fist. That was never a good sign. "I... uh... Now that I'm queen, I would like to change a few things around here. And that includes you."

"You want to change me?" Lance scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Of course..."

"You spend too much time on that wall, doing nothing." Allura raised her voice, ignoring Lance's before angry statement. "You don't talk with anyone. You don't do your duties. There's something out there that's for some reason preventing you from... from doing what you're supposed to do."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"W-what are you supposed to do?" Allura repeated, not expecting that sort of response. "Well, do what every proper prince is supposed to. Assist the queen with her royal duties. Keep up our relationships with our allies. Help defend the empire."

"Right..." Lance mumbled, digging his chin into his palm. He looked away from Allura, and stared towards the village once more. It looked so busy in the day time. Lance only wished he could be down there among the other Alteans. With less flashy clothing, of course. Something simple... Like a plain shirt and pants. No armor, or cape. Just everyday, peasant clothing. They looked quite comfortable, but Lance wouldn't know. 

"So..." Allura continued, clearing her throat. Her neck likely aced from looking up for so long. "I know you're not going to like this news, but... It's for the kingdom's best... It's for your best. If something ever happens to me-"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll have to step up as king." Lance mumbled. He just wanted to be done with this conversation. Whatever bad news Allura was about to tell him, he didn't even care. His life sucked. How could she possibly make it suck any more?

"I've hired a bodyguard."

Lance nearly tipped off the wall. He was wrong before. There was a way to make Lance's life suck more! "W-what!" He spat, throwing his arms to his sides to keep his balance. "You did what now?"

"I've hired a bodyguard." She repeated.

"That was a rhetorical question!" Lance yelped, smoke practically seeping from his pointed brown ears. "A body guard? Why the quiznak would I need one of those?"

"To keep you in check!" Allura stated bluntly. "To make sure you stop sneaking away, and sleeping outside in the grass. To make sure you act like a proper prince should."

Lance jumped down from the wall, landing next to Allura, a grimace across his face. "You can't do that! I have free will, you know!"

"I'm not taking away your free will." Allura argued. "I'm just... Making sure you don't, I don't know, get yourself in any trouble. And preventing you from running off..."

"So, like a prisoner."

"No! N-nothing like that! Honestly, Lance. Why... why can't you ever just be..."

Lance crossed his arms, and raised his eyebrow. "Ever be what?"

"Just..."

"That's what I thought." Lance muttered. He was sick of this. Who did Allura think Lance was? His son? It sure did seem that way. Ever since that fateful day when their mom died, she seemed to think it was her duty to take up the responsibility as his guardian. She was never good at it, of course. She's only a few years older than Lance after all. But Allura still seemed to think the she had all the superiority, parenting Lance with an iron fist.

Lance turned on his heels, and took long strides to the door. Allura followed, urging him to stay. Lance didn't listen however, and kept walking down the hall, and into the throne room. There, he met his father, King Alfor, who was currently discussing something with the mustached royal advisor, Coran. They both turned when the queen and the prince bursted through the door. "Allura? Lance?" Coran looked from one angry face to another. He then stepped back, likely knowing something ugly was about to go down.

"Father! Did you know about this?" Lance demanded, his face red with anger. 

King Alfor smiled back, dragging his fingers through his long, white beard. "Know? Know what?"

"About Allura's little scheme, that's what! Did you know she hired a bodyguard, or more accurately, a prison keeper!"

"Oh, yes!" Alfor nodded. "Actually, that's what me and Coran were just discussing. He has already found the perfect candidate."

"Coran! How could you?" Lance gave the royal adviser a nasty glare. 

Coran twirled his mustache nervously. "Sorry Prince Lance. I can't disobey Queen Allura's orders. I did try and find the best possible bodyguard however, if that makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't." Lance hissed. "Who did you get? Where is he?"

Coran looked to Alfor, than back to Lance. "Of course..." He cleared his throat before continuing with the description. "His name is Keith. He's quite strong, and has lots of fighting experience. From a young age, he joined the Altean army, and fought against fleets of Zarkon's forces. All this, and he's only your age! So, seeing how well qualified he is, and how close in age you two line up, I believed he was the perfect man for the job. You know... So he won't only be a guard, but a friend... You don't have many opportunities to talk with Altean's your age, after all."

Lance wasn't impressed. "Keith? What kind of name is that?" He huffed, and tapped his foot impatiently on the tiled floor. "Well, you can go and tell this Keith he is no longer needed. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, thank you. I don't need any protection. Especially not from some complete stranger."

"I'm sorry Lance, but no." King Alfor spoke up, regaining Lance's attention. "You are going to comply. Me and Allura both discussed it beforehand, and we've come to a conclusion. This is what's best for you. And you may not understand that now, but soon you will see our perspectives."

"But-" Lance stuttered. Great! He was on Allura's side. Now there really was no way to get out of this mess. "But... Don't you think I should've met this person before hand? I mean... Letting a total stranger watch over me? Who knows what he'll do. You never know. The guy could turn out to be a murderous maniac! Or worse. He could have a mullet!"

Allura scoffed, and shook her head as if saying, how stupid. Does he really believe they would hire someone such as that!

"Well..." Coran cut in once more. "If meeting him is what you wish, you're in luck. I invited Keith here today! He's just in the kitchen now. I can call him out here if it's what you desire."

Lance's eyes widened, and glanced frantically to the kitchen doors. He already invited him here? For just how long were the three of them going behind his back? "Yes, call him in." Allura nodded, apparently not realizing that Coran was actually addressing Lance.

"Yes Queen!" Coran took a bow, then snapped his body around dramatically, so that he was facing the kitchen doors. "Oh, Keith!" He shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth and mustache. "It's time to greet your new master!"

Lance didn't like that word. Master. It sounded as though he owned these people as slaves. Boss would be a more appropriate title. Or maybe just Lance. What was so wrong with being called by his actual name? The peasants and servants always addressed him as ruler, highness, or some other idiotic title. Lance was Lance, and that's the way he liked it. 

All four Altean's glared in the direction of the door, patiently awaiting the surprise. Only a tick after Coran's call, the door began creaking open. Lance squinted his eyes, and focused on his so called 'bodyguard', as he revealed himself. Allura gasped, as Keith stepped into the throne room, closing the door behind him. "What the quiznak?" She rubbed her eyes, and refocused to make sure she was seeing things properly. "It's a Galra! Coran, what's the meaning of this? I told you to hire a bodyguard, not a..." She stopped. Perhaps she realized just how far over the line she had already crossed.

King Alfor frowned. He looked disappointed in what his daughter had just said. Lance couldn't blame him. Lance found it quite racist... speciesist?... Well, he thought it very rude either way. Even for a Galra, who he admitted, didn't much care for. Killing his mother, and countless others after all. But Allura was forgetting the many other good Galras, who rebelled against Zarkon. Individualism is the thing which makes creatures morally good or bad, not what they are. That's the philosophy which Lance swore to follow, even if it was sometimes difficult. 

"Allura! Stop that talk at once!" Alfor demanded. Allura looked as though she wanted to sink back into her shoes. "You are being extremely improper! And to a honored war veteran no less. Keith is not Galran, if you so ask. He is half Altean half Galran, and none is to be ashamed!"

Lance eyed Keith curiously. He did have a mullet. Along with that, Keith had light purple skin, slightly darker purple hair, glowing yellow eyes with dark blueish pupils, and a fang hanging from the right side of his lip... Nope, not familiar to Lance whatsoever. 

Lance barely got to see Galras, let alone an Altean Galra hybrid. It was unheard of! Who ever believed an Altean could actually fall in love with a Galra? It was like the story of beauty and the beast (a completely Altean tale, which their culture alone came up with, and no other planet owned). When Keith came closer, he glanced in Lance's direction. Lance gave him a frown, and crossed his arms. He wanted to get the message across that he was not happy about this arrangement.

Keith halted next to King Alfor. The king put a shoulder on the poker faced boys shoulder, and offered an apologetic smile. Keith didn't seem to care about what Allura had said previously. Actually, Keith didn't look to be showing any sort of emotion. He truly did look like a cold, uncaring Galra soldier. Well... a short one, with less hair, and pupils. Allura was staring daggers at Keith, likely convinced that he actually was like the others. Lance almost smiled at her expression. Her plan didn't go the way she wanted. It still turned out bad for Lance, but at least Allura was suffering alongside him.

"Lance, meet your new bodyguard Keith." Alfor motioned his hand in his son's direction, then to Keith, then back to Lance. "I know it might seem... odd at first. But I truly want you two to become good friends. I know I can't force anything, but I've heard you two have a lot in common."

Lance wanted desperately to roll his eyes, but thought it unwise to anger his father any further. Yeah right. Him and this 'war veteran'. What the hell did they have in common? From what Lance could see, the only external thing was their age and height. Normally, Galra's grew to be super tall, but Keith wasn't just Galra. Likely his Altean blood shrunk him down a few pegs. Even so, Keith did stretch a few inches taller than him. Other than that, they were complete opposites. One was purple, buff, and a war veteran. The other was brown, puny, and a is isolated prince. It was like looking in a mirror. 

"Your majesty." Keith bowed his head, as you do when greeting royalty. His voice was soft and barely audible.

"Your Keithiness." Lance huffed back.

Alfor looked at the two boys, and smiled as though his malicious plan was already going swimmingly. Allura looked crossly at Coran, who was once again twirling his fluffy orange mustache. Keith had the same unchanging expression as before, and was looking straight ahead at the bare castle walls. Lance honestly couldn't tell one bit what the dude was thinking. He likely didn't want to be here any more than Lance did, if he had to guess. If Lance weren't himself, he wouldn't want to look after Lance either. Much too stubborn.

"Father." Allura whispered, as though the others couldn't clearly hear her. "May I speak with you, in private."

The king sighed. "Very well." He looked to Keith, and  gave him a nod. "Will you please escort Lance to the study. He has some work waiting for him." 

Great. Just what Lance needed. Work, as though this mess wasn't already work enough. Lance was definitely not going back there. 

Keith nodded in confirmation, then marched next to Lance. "This way your majesty." He motioned his fluffy arm toward the grand entrance doors.

Lance tossed his cape behind him, and followed Keith to the exit. With one last glance back, both Lance and Keith exited, closing the doors behind them. Only a tick afterwards, Lance could have sworn he heard the muffled, angry voice of Queen Allura. Oh, classic scary Allura. 

No point in caring about his family's little scuffle however. Lance had somewhere to be. He turned sharply on his heels, and took a step forward when-

"Your majesty! Where are you going?"

Lance craned his neck back. He saw Keith, who looked half confused, half annoyed. Oh, yeah. Lance almost forgot! He needed some way to get rid of his new 'chum'. But how?... Annoy him until he finally gets fed up and quits? That definitely seemed like something Lance was capable of. "Where am I going?" Lance repeated. "I don't know. Where are you going?"

"Um... To the study like his majesty, the King instructed."

"Oh, majesty smajesty!" Lance crossed his arms, and rolled his eyes. He did his best to seem as irritating as possible. "He's not the boss of me! And neither are you, buddy ol' pal."

Keith's fluffy purple eyebrows came together, and his pointed ears twitched. "It's true I'm not the boss of you." He stated, louder than he was back in the throne room. "But the King does have more authority than you do, Prince. And I'm obligated to follow his orders. And my orders were clear. He wants me to escort you to the study."

Lance scrunched up his nose, and narrowed his eyes in Keith's direction. He then turned himself fully around, and began talking in his loudest, regal speaking voice. "Oh, I see how it is, Keith, if that's even your real name. But, I hate to break the news to you. I'm annoying. Very much so. And stubborn. As well as infuriating, aggravating, bothersome, disturbing, irritating, troublesome, vexatious, and basically all the bad traits you can possibly shove into one body. But, more than anything, I always, and I mean always, want things my way. And I shall do whatever it takes to make sure that I do. So, let me tell you Keith. I've gone through some extreme measures in the past. If I personally were you, I wouldn't ever dream of getting in my way. Honestly, I would just give up on myself the very first day of this job. And that is my prediction for you, Keith. And be assured, I am rarely ever wrong. It's a proven fact."

Keith blinked, his brain processing the shear amount of information Lance had just spouted. Lance's speeches normally had that effect on people. Leavening them completely, and utterly brain dead. One of Lance's many useful abilities for getting people to hate him. It currently seemed to be working wonderfully, judging from Keith's baffled reaction.

Keith took about another dobash to fully process all of Lance's words. "I'm sorry your majesty." He finally responded. "But I am not so easily swayed. His majesty the King hired me for a reason, and I'm not planning on bailing on it any time soon."

"Hm... Interesting response." Lance tossed his cape back behind him. "You have guts, I'll give you that Galra Altean. But, sadly, I have an appointment elsewhere. So, if you excuse me, I'll be off."

Lance turned once again, and took a long stride away to his desired destination. Keith swiftly acted, grabbing Lance's wrist, stopping him from going any further. "I hate to say this to you Prince, but remember that King Alfor gave me the authority to use force as a means of carrying out his orders. I don't plan to, but be assured that if the time comes, I won't hesitate."

Lance pulled his arm away from Keith's hand, and glanced down at the purple boy's razor sharp claws. He laughed nervously, a bead of sweat rolling from his hairline, and stopping as it made contact with his forehead crown. Though he would never admit it, Keith's sharp teeth and nails made him ever so nervous. Still, the stubborn Lance was not one to give in to trivial fears such as that. "Is that a threat?" He asked, rubbing the place on his wrist that Keith was holding previously.

"It was only a warning." 

"Same thing." Lance huffed.

"Ok then. It was a threat." 

Lance gave Keith a scowl. Wow, the nerve this guy had. Never before had Lance met someone other than family or Coran, who argued back. No one in their right mind would do such a thing to royalty. Apparently, Keith wasn't in his right mind. Lance would have almost enjoyed talking with him, if Keith wasn't trying to force him into the study. It wasn't often he got to met such an interesting guest after all. "Very well then." Lance finally gave in. "I'll go. Just don't expect me to do any of this work father assigned. I'm not one for learning."

"Ah, yes." The Galra Altean nodded in agreement. "Coran informed me all about that."

Lance took a tick to process the insult. "Hey!" He snapped. "I'm not... you know what? Whatever. J-just... Let's just go already."


	3. All Out Of Arguments

Four quintents. Four _quiznaking_ quintents in living hell! No matter how hard Lance tried, he couldn't get Keith to quit. Neither did he manage to get some alone time, because his so called 'bodyguard' insisted on escorting him everywhere. Even when Lance managed to sneak from his sight, the Galra Altean always seemed to have a way of re-finding him!

Honestly! The only time Lance was truly alone, was on the toilet. Lance betted Keith would have follow him in there too, if it wasn't so indecent. Over time, Lance began to wonder if Keith really was a bodyguard, and not some sort of stalker. All he knew was that if he died in the next few quintents, Allura, Alfor, and Coran only has themselves to blame.

Lance sat idly by on his golden plated toilet seat. He didn't even need to go! All he wanted was to get away from Keith's watching eyes.

Keith stood patiently by the bathroom door, as he waited for his young master to finish his business. But Lance didn't have time for that. He had different business to attend to. Business that did not include toilets of any sort. He eyed the ventilation shaft maliciously, a fantastic scheme forming in his mind.

It looked just big enough to fit Lance. A bit of a tight fit, but Lance could manage. He unscrewed the bolts with a tool he picked up one day in the kitchen, and removed the cover.  Then, as stealthily as possible, he shuffled himself in. Not bothering to re-close the vent behind him, he continued down the dark, damp space.

Where was Lance going? Why ask him? He had absolutely no clue whatsoever. It wasn't everyday he had the urge to explore this part of the Castle of Lions. All Lance knew was that it led away, and that was exactly what he wanted.

What felt like vargas later, Lance finally reached another vent cover. He unscrewed the bolts, and pushed himself out of the shaft. Lance then inspected his new surroundings. That's weird... He'd never been in this room before. Or had he?

Lance found himself in a gigantic hangar looking place. The walls, floor, and ceiling were completely gray, making the place quite a dull thing to behold. In the center of the area, five enormous, colorful machines rested stationary. Lance rubbed his eyes, and focused on the closest one. It was blue, and looked like a giant lion. There was also a black one, a red one, a green one, and a yellow one... Whoa! No way!

This was it! This was the hanger! The hanger which held the five parts of Voltron, aka: the ultimate weapon that helped defeat the infamous Lord Zarkon. In all his years living here, King Alfor had banned him from one place, and one place only. And here Lance was! In the exact place his father forbid. A tingle of excitement ran down Lance's back. What an adventure!

Lance walked towards the blue lion, his mouth agape with awe. It was so big! Bigger than Lance had ever imagined! And this was only one of its legs! He couldn't imagine the sheer size Voltron would turn out to be once all five parts were connected.

Lance placed a hand on one of Blue's massive metal claws. Or was it metal? Lance remembered hearing something about the black lions origins. How Lord Zarkon had teamed up with King Alfor and mined the materials from a comet that crash landed into Zarkon's planet. They then used what they found, and crafted the black lion in the process. Lance didn't know about the others however. Voltron was surrounded in so much mystery, he doubted even the creators knew everything about it.

The blue lion didn't respond to Lance's touch. Of course it didn't. Why would it? Still, Lance felt an odd sort of draw to this lion in particular. He wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was due to blue being his favorite color? But that didn't seem right. This fascination... It seemed more spiritual than anything. An odd thing to say about a giant mechanical kitty, but it was true. It was as if, he was meant to be here. Lance felt as though he was meant to discover this place, and this lion in particular.

"Hello Blue..." Lance muttered, though he was not sure why. "Wow! Look at you. You're so beautiful."

Blue didn't respond outwardly, but Lance could have sworn he heard some sort of cheeky response. Perhaps it said, "Oh, honey. Don't I know it." Well, at least that's what Lance wished happened anyways.

Lance wasn't sure why he was flirting with a giant cat robot. For some reason, he just felt compelled. It wasn't as weird as some of his other attractions, such as oil paintings, rugs, and green colored foods to name a few.

"So gorgeous!" Lance repeated, running his fingers along the machine's massive paw. "Why are you cooped up in here, and not out there protecting?"

Blue's mechanical parts stirred. It's voice rang in Lance's head. "No one needs us any longer... So bored..."

Lance frowned. He understood that feeling all too well. The only difference was that Lance was never once needed. Not by his subjects, not by his family. It was as if he was a third wheel in the royal family. Everyone knew the King, and everyone knew the newly crowned Queen. But how about Lance? It wasn't as though he served any importance. His sister was in charge, not him. Not that it was a bad thing, but still. Lance couldn't help but feel useless.

"I understand that too..." Blue echoed.

"You do? But... how?"

"Every being thinks of themselves as an outsider at least once."

At least once? But Lance always felt that way! With everyone he had ever met, he felt a disconnect. No one ever understood, or had any sympathy toward him. This led to Lance's lack of friends, and habit of pushing others away.

"The time will soon come."

"Huh?" Lance looked up, confused. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"The time is near." Blue rephrased. "You shall learn to stay connected."

"Connected? Connected to wh-"

"Quickly! The purple one approaches. Get in!"

"Keith?" Lance's eyes widened. He looked every which way, but didn't see any sign of him. "How do yo-"

Blue moved. Lance jumped back as Blue raised into a standing position, then knelt his head down to the floor, right in front of the startled Altean prince. Blue's jaw feel open, prompting Lance to hop in. With only a tick of reconsideration, Lance climbed in. As he adjusted himself in the control panel seat, Blue retook its sitting position. "Whoa! Look at me!" Lance's smile gleamed brightly. "Ha, check meowt! I'm an quiznaking Paladin mother-quiznaker!"

Lance felt Blue cringe. "Please. I beg of you, no cat puns."

The hanger door flew open. Lance held in his gasp as Keith, poker faced as always, walked in. How the hell did he already find Lance? That guy had some sort of super Galra senses, Lance swore!

Both Blue and Lance stayed absolutely still as Keith looked from one side of the room to the other. He didn't seem to notice Lance in the ship, since Blue pretended to be shut off. What was likely only a few dobashs, felt like multiple vargas as Lance awaited Keith to somehow discover his hiding position.

"Where is he?" Keith asked suddenly, looking at no point in particular. This made Lance's heart sink. What the hell was going on? Who was he talking to?

Keith fell silent for another beat, then spoke once more. "Why can't you say?"

Holy Voltron lord! Keith was crazy! Lance totally called it.

Keith nodded, then turned back to the bay doors. He exited, and Lance let out a loud, drawn out sigh of relief. Good! Crazy man didn't catch him. "Thanks Blue." He grinned.

"Don't thank me."

"Huh? Why not? But you-" Lance looked out the window to the other lions. Was it possible... Was Keith talking with one of the other lions? But, how?

An idea flickered to life in the back of Lance's mind. "Hey Blue!" He smiled maliciously. "You can fly, right?"

Blue gave him a rumble in conformation.

"And this castle has a built in teludav, correct? One which creates wormholes."

Blue answered with another yes. Lance rubbed his hands together, and flashed a toothy grin. "Perfect." He chuckled maniacally.

***

Lance, knowing all the ends and outs of the castle, sneaked expertly from the lion landing, to the castles control center. And by expertly, he of course meant he was nearly caught more times than he could count. Lance was beginning to wonder if Keith implanted some sort of tracker in his skull.

Lance ran up to Allura's hand control thingy. He didn't know much about how ships worked, slacking off during study and all. All he knew, was that you were supposed to place your hands above the two ball thingies, and power the wormhole with... Altean energy? Sounded pretty stupid to him, but that's what he had learned. Still, Lance didn't know if he was even capable of manifesting the Altean energy, which was designated to only a handful of 'sacred Alteans' with the ability to mine crystals from balmeras.

But damn it, Lance was determined to try! If he was caught then so be it. But, if he succeeded then who knew what good would come! Lance closed his eyes, and focused. In his mind he repeated _altean energy, altean energy, altean energy_ over and over again. Nothing happened.

Lance frowned, and tried a second time. He focused so hard, that sweat began falling from his forehead. Alas, no avail.

"Focus on your core." Blue's voice danced throughout Lance's body. "Altean energy comes from the soul, not the mind."

Lance nodded, and did exactly as Blue instructed. Third time the charm apparently, because directly above he saw the teludav activate. A beam shot into the air, opening a large, black wormhole high in the sky. Lance pumped a fist in the air, his face glowing with pride.

There was no time to waste however. He needed to get back to his lion, and quick. Lance raced down the hall towards the docking area. He was no longer focusing on being stealthy. All he needed was to reach Blue before the wormhole closed, and he would be home free!

Suddenly, Lance heard a dreadful voice call after him. "Prince Lance!" Keith yelped, as he sped past.

Great! This was exactly what Lance was afraid of. Keith ran after him, only a few steps from tackling the prince to the ground. Though Keith was drastically faster, and more familiar in the athletic department, Lance managed to stay ahead. His blue cape flew behind him, and boots made loud clacking sounds as he stepped.

Lance turned corner after corner, until he finally reached the large room which contained all five lions. Blue's mouth was already opened, awaiting Lance's arrival. Lance jumped in, and Blue closed his jaw before Keith could go in after him. "Your majesty!" Keith shouted, looking up at Blue's glowing yellow eyes. "What in Altea are you doing in there?"

"What does it look like?" Lance spoke over the lions speaker system. "I'm getting the hell meowt of here!" Lance felt both Blue and Keith cringe this time.

"Why?" Keith asked, as the airlock opened. "What's the point?"

"Point? Must there be a point in everything?" Lance touched the control panel randomly. Blue raised, and turned towards the direction of the exit. "Last time I checked, circles don't have points, and I think they're perfectly lovely shapes."

Lance grinned, and flipped a random lever. Blue shot forward, flying out of the castle and into the air. The rush was amazing! Never before had Lance experienced something quite like it. The speed sent his heart beating a million miles a dobash. Lance let out a cheer, pushing the controls forward, speeding the lion even faster through the air.

"Change course for the giant hole in the sky!" Lance turned Blue and zoomed toward the wormhole which he created.

Lance was only a few miles away from his destination when in the corner of his vision, he saw a flash of red. Lance snapped his head towards the red lion in shock. No way! Keith couldn't be... He was flying the red lion!

Red and Blue sped together side by side. Red attempted to knock Blue off course, but Blue dodged it with a graceful spin. "Your majesty." Lance heard Keith's voice from inside his control panel. The lions must have been connected somehow. Perhaps that's why they all heard what the others heard. "Please. I beg of you. Do not do this. You have not thought this through-"

"Sure I have! I thought to myself, hey, I wanna do this. And so I did! Seems like pretty solid reasoning to me."

"Once you go in there, you will be stuck. The portal with close, and there will be no way of recreating it on the other side. And the king! He has no way of tracking you without his lion."

"His lion?" Lance repeated. His father hadn't talked much about his time as a Paladin. All Lance knew was that at one point, he was one part of Voltron. Perhaps it was Blue which he flew? Then, it made sense why Lance was also able to fly it. Maybe it had something to do with blood, and family ties? If so, why could Keith fly Red?

Lance picked up his sped. He was getting ever so close. Any tick now...

"Think of your family!" Keith shouted out desperately. "Your father will be crushed when he finds out you have disappeared!"

"Should have thought it through before locking me up then." Lance grinned. Ten ticks until impact... nine... eight...

"How about her majesty, Queen Allura! She will be distraught! It will kill her knowing she couldn't do anything to help you."

Seven ticks until impact... six... five... "Maybe she should have stopped trying to 'help me', and instead try and accept me."

"B- but!" Keith stuttered. He was all out of arguments.

Lance's eyes widened, and heart went into overdrive. Four more ticks until freedom... three... two... ONE! Both the blue and Red lion zoomed into the wormhole, and disappeared with a flash.


	4. Aliens To Our World

The two lions, Blue and Red, sped out the other end of the wormhole, and were imminently drawn in by the nearby planet's gravity. Lance attempted to pull back, but Blue wasn't responding. "Blue? Blue!" He shouted. All the lights and controls had been switched off. Lance's heart sank as he was pulled closer and closer towards the planet's surface. "Blue? What's wrong with you? Why aren't you moving?"

Lance looked out the window frantically. He spotted the Red lion just a few yards ahead of him. It looked to be unresponsive as well, and had a tail of flames trailing behind it as they entered the atmosphere. "Keith? Can you hear me?" Lance called out desperately, though he knew it was useless.

Red warning lights began flashing around him. Why the quiznak were they working and not everything else, Lance wondered. He didn't have the time to sit around and think however. They were approximately three dobashs away from impact, and Lance needed to act quick.

But what was Lance to do? The lion wasn't responding, and he had no clue of how to fix it. "Think Lance, think." He mumbled. "What would Father do?"

There was now one dobash until impact. Lance's heart pounded hard against his chest, and entire body began to sweat. But his now sticky clothes were the least of his worries at the moment.

Thirty ticks... twenty ticks... ten ticks. Lance pulled and pushed every lever and switch. Nothing was working. Nine ticks... eight ticks... six... five... four... Lance shut his eyes tight, and braced himself for impact. At least he was going out with a bang, instead of rotting away in that damn castle. Three... two... ONE!

The two lions crashed with a loud bang. Lance's head snapped forward, and slammed into the control panel, knocking him out cold.

***

"Your majesty... Prince Lance?... Prince Lance!" Keith smacked Lance across the face. The Altean prince imminently shot up, bringing his palm to his aching cheek.

"Quiznak!" He blurted out. "What the Voltron?... What? Where the hell am I? Where's Blue?"

"It spit you out." Keith answered. "Right before shutting off again."

Lance looked to his left, then to his right. He was surrounded by some sort of tree filled area. Blue and Red sat powered off under the comfort of a nearby cave. Those douches, Lance thought, they had enough energy to find shelter, yet not enough to rescue Lance from nearly falling to his death! Speaking of which... How the Voltron was Lance still alive? He was alive... right? Was this what the afterlife looked like? If so, he hated it. Why did Keith have to be there?

Lance stood, and brushed himself off. His cape was completely torn off, and mud stained his armor and skin. His short, messy white hair had sticks and other creatures entangled in it, and his crown was completely missing. Lance brought his hand to his forehead, and gasped. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" Keith stood as well, brushing off his dirty clothing, aka: the fancy white and blue uniform Lance's father provided every servant. He didn't seem too upset about it getting ruined however. Smudges of brown dirt stained his light purple skin, and his long hair was a complete mess. Together, Lance and Keith looked like a pair of homeless trolls. Well, Keith always looked like that, but more than usual.

Keith dug into his pocket and pulled out a card looking device. He tapped it once, and a blue, holographic screen appeared. He swiped his fingers a few times, making the hologram's picture shift. Lance watched in awe. He wasn't too familiar with technology. Never really had an interest in it, preferring more organic things. Still, he was amazed by just how fascinatingly the screen changed shape.

Keith activated something, then grumbled. "No response. We must be too far away."

"Like, how far away exactly?"

"Like... Take the distance between our star and the closest one to it, and multiply that by one million." Keith responded. "Then take that number, and multiply that by the millionth power. That would be about .0000000000000000000001% of the distance needed to travel to get from Altea to here by regular means."

Lance's mind nearly combusted. "Well... I'm not real good at math, but I'm guessing that's pretty far."

"Not just pretty far." Keith corrected. "It's immensely far. Beyond description. This part of the universe hasn't even been documented yet! How in the world did you manage a wormhole this far?"

Lance shrugged. "I don't know. Reached into my core, and stuff. I'm pretty sure Blue did most of the work."

"And you're not hurt?"

Lance looked down at himself. He didn't seem too hurt. A bump here and there, but other than that he was perfectly alright. "Nope."

Keith let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that... Now, WHAT THE QUIZNAK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Lance reeled back. He wasn't expecting such a loud reaction from the normally stone faced Keith. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ok, we have to agree on at least this: this situation was not _independently_ my fault."

Keith looked as though he wanted to smack Lance upside the head again. "How the quiznak is this not your fault?"

"Hey!" Lance held up his hands defensively. "I never asked for you to follow me. Besides, it was Blue who malfunctioned, not me."

"It was your plan to begin with."

Lance nodded, and held up a finger. "Yes, yes. But, you must admit. I'm only a victim of circumstance. Honestly, Allura's more at fault than I am. She's the one who forced... you... on me. And Father! If he never agreed with this ' _arrangement_ ', I would likely still be rotting my life away back in the Castle of Lions. Honestly, I should be thanking them! If not for you, I would never have found the hanger, or had the motivation to escape."

"You wanted to crash land on a likely hostile planet, with no survival experience, nothing but the clothes on your back, and with no way of getting back?"

Lance paused. "Um... Well... I'm not really one for plans. I kinda just follow what my guts tell me to do, you know. Actually... In this case it was a giant cat robot. It didn't tell me to do it exactly, but it never stated to not do it."

Keith face palmed. It looked as though it hurt as well, as it left behind a reddish mark on his light purple skin. "Whatever..." Keith grumbled. "We need to... We need to find a way to fix these lions."

Fix the lions? Yeah right. How were they supposed to do that? Lance had absolutely no engineering experience, and he seriously doubted Keith had any as well. Plus, it wasn't as though there was anyone on this planet that could-

"EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!" A high pitched scream rang out across the trees. This made both Keith and Lance jump. They looked to one another, then in the direction of the noise.

Welp, what else was there to do? The two stranded boys ran forward. What were they to find? It was a complete mystery. They were in a strange new world. So far from home, and so alone. If there was any chance of intelligent life, they needed to find it.

They ran out into a clearing. There was no more trees where they stood, and some sort of soft, peach dirt replaced the normal grassy ground. Nearby, a blue, liquid substance stretched out to the horizon. It was like nothing Lance had ever seen before. He only had a few seconds to admire it however, before another ear splitting shriek rang out, nearer this time. Both Lance and Keith turned.

"Stop screaming Hunk!" A girl... or at least Lance assumed it was a girl, with a green tank top and white shorts stood next to a much bigger, burly looking boy. He had a yellow shirt, and green shorts, as well as a yellow piece of cloth tied to his forehead. The boy had some sort of red creature clawed to his nose, and the girl looked as though she was trying to pull it off. They looked fairly similar to Altean's. Their sickle shaped marking below their eyes were missing however, and their ears were short and blobby. "Just calm down, before it claws down even harder!"

The boy, Hunk Lance assumed, took a deep breath in. "Pidge... I'm kinda freaking out here." His voice sounded nasally with his nose being clamped shut by the feisty red animal. "You can get it off, right? You can, can't you?"

"Not if you keep screaming! You're provoking it!" Pidge scolded, grabbing one of the creature's legs, and pulling. She just nearly missed a swing from one of its massive chomping claws. "Come on crab! Just get off my friend already!"

"Pidge?! Are you almost done? I think I'm going to scream again!"

"Don't you dare Hunk!"

"GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The big burly guy yelped, as high pitched as ever. The creature squeezed down harder on his nose. "OMG, OMG, OMG!" He fanned his face in a panic. Pidge lost hold of the creature's leg.

Lance turned to Keith, a baffled expression on both their faces. "Should we, like... help them?" Lance whispered. The two aliens still hadn't noticed them watching. Too busy freaking out, Lance guessed. Wow, this planet was already turning out to be super weird. He wondered what else lived here.

"Um..." Keith mumbled back. "I think it's best to just stand back for now. To not freak them out any further."

Lance nodded in agreement. How would these aliens react to him? More importantly, how would they react to Keith! Lance could maybe pass as one of their kind, but Keith looked a hell of a lot different from them, and much more... animalistic. Plus, Keith did state earlier how this section of the universe was yet to be recorded. Who knew how advanced their technology was! What if they never even ventured beyond their solar system before Armatures, Lance thought.

Pidge yanked on the creature's leg (crab if Lance remembered correctly), and finally pulled it off Hunk's nose. She tossed it far away onto the grainy soft dirt, and it scuttled away into the big mass of blue liquid. Lance wondered why it was taking its own life by drowning. That's what happened in liquids, right?

"Phew." Hunk fell forward, a nasty red mark across his nose where the crab had held. "Thanks Pidge."

Pidge fell forward as well. Lance assumed they both were catching their breaths, and getting over the initial shock. "Yeah, no problem. I do this kind of thing all the time." She huffed.

Wow, all the time? Lance thought. This planet must be really hostile.

A few ticks pass in total silence. But, right when Lance saw the two aliens recover, Hunk suddenly lets out another loud screech. "EEEEEEEEEKKKK!"

Pidge nearly jumped out of her shoes. "What? What is it? Don't tell me another one attached to your butt!"

Hunk, his face showing an expression of utter terror, lifted a shaky finger and pointed straight towards Lance and Keith. The two Alteans looked at one another nervously, then back to the pair of aliens. Pidge's eyes widened behind her round, clear, goggle looking face mask. Lance wondered what the purpose of it was.

"W-what the fuck is t-that?" Hunk whisper shouted, doing his best to stay still, yet shaking violently in fear.

"What the quiznak does fuck mean?" Lance whispered to Keith. He shrugged.

Hunk yelped, and jumped back. "I'm not imagining things, am I? Right Pidge? I'm not losing my mind, am I?"

Pidge adjusted her clear goggle things, and narrowed her eyes in Lance's and Keith's direction. "No. I see them too. Hm... do you think their cosplayers of some sort?"

"Cosplayers? Cosplay of what? And why would they be all the way out here?"

Pidge shrugged. "I don't know. The purple one could be a furry."

"Furry?" Keith's eyebrows scrunched together. "I'm not that furry." Lance muffled his laughter behind his hand.

"OMG! It talked!" Hunk ran and hid behind Pidge.

She rolled her eyes. "Hunk, chill. They're only costumes. They're not dangerous."

"How do you know that?"

Pidge sighed, and pulled Hunk by the ear out from behind her back. She then turned her attention to Lance and Keith, and called out. "Hello there! What are you two doing all the way out here?"

"Well, currently standing." Lance answered. "And trying to find help... Well I'm not, but this guy wants to get back. Honestly, I don't care."

Pidge raised her eyebrow suspiciously. "What do you mean by trying to find help? Can you step a little closer?" Hunk shook his head furiously as though that was the worst idea in the history of ideas.

Lance shrugged, and went closer. Keith was about to pull him back, but decided against it. Perhaps he suspected Hunk and Pidge to be much too ludicrous to be of any danger.

Pidge looked Lance up and down. She then turned to Keith and squinted to get a better look. "Wow." She stated. "I'm impressed. Whatever you did to make your skin look that way, it's incredible! It doesn't even look like makeup. So organic with the shading, and touch of fur. How did you ever manage-"

"It's real." Keith sighed.

Pidge let out a laugh. "Ha, yeah right. Are you seriously telling me that you-"

Keith's skin began transforming. His hair became a dark shade of black, and less abundant on his arms and face. His skin also lightened up until it was a peachy shade. Only his eyes stayed the same. Perhaps it was beyond his power to shift them. Shapeshifting did take a lot of skill, and training after all. Lance could only change his skin from brown to green. A not very helpful ability, but hey. He was happy to just be able to do that. Still, it did surprise Lance to see Keith change so suddenly. He looked like an actual Altean! Like, a full one! If he was so skilled at shapeshifting, Lance wondered why he didn't try and do it all the time. That way, people would stop staring, and maybe treat him as an actual valid member of society.

"Oh..." Pidge mumbled, her eyes practically bugging from their sockets. "T-that's not normal..."

"Yeah, no kidding! T-that's it, I'm getting out of here!" Hunk announced, turning his body away from the scary shapeshifting monster.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pidge stopped Hunk in his tracks. "Stay Hunk. This is... This could be interesting. Tell me, whoever you two are, what are your names, and what are you."

Lance pointed finger guns in Pidge's direction. "Hey, the name's Lance." He said suavely. "And I'm single."

Keith frowned, "Are you seriously flirting with an alien right now?"

"What? It's not everyday I get to meet girls my age. Or boys, for that matter." Lance redirected his finger guns towards Hunk, and winked.

Hunk blushed and inched back behind Pidge. She rolled her eyes once more, and pulled him back out by the ear. "Ow, ow, ow!" He complained. "No need to be so rough! I'm going, I'm going."

"How do you know they are your same age?" Keith whispered, ignoring the aliens. "They live light years away. Who knows, they could look like teenagers, but be one thousand years old."

"We are teenagers." Pidge got the two Alteans attention once more. "Hunk here is eighteen, and I'm sixteen."

"Oh quiznak..." Lance mumbled. "I just flirted with two infants..."

"Infant?" Pidge looked offended. "Infants are that age where you come from? How old does that make you then?"

Lance puffed his muddy, armored chest out proudly. "Eighty six and three quarters. But I'm quite wise beyond my years."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Yeah, is that why you got us stuck on the other side of a wormhole?"

"You know what, Keith? I'll stick you in a wormhole!" Lance raised his arms in a 'fight me' gesture. Keith clenched his fists, and scowled back.

Pidge looked from Lance to Keith then back to Lance. "Wormhole? Shapeshifting? Long ass life spans? Don't tell me... Are you two like, aliens or something?"

"Us? Pshh! No." Lance scoffed. "You're the aliens here, not us."

"Um, no." Pidge corrected. "Last time I checked, you are on our planet. Therefore, that makes you aliens to our world."

"Hmm..." Lance gave Pidge a evil glare. "You are smart... For an infant, that is."

"I'm not an infant!" Pidge argued back. "And I am right. You two are the aliens here. But why? Why did you come here of all places?"

"I don't know." Lance answered, looking out towards the horizon. It was morning where they had landed, as well as real hot and humid. Back at the castle, it was almost always cold. He wasn't used to the feeling. Especially not with his bulky, tight fitting armor. "Kinda didn't have a choice on the matter... What is this place anyways?"

"Earth." Pidge answered. "And where are you two from?"

"Altea." Lance smiled. "Good thing I'm never going back there again."

"Yes you are!" Keith cut in. "Someone has to find us... eventually..."

"Pshh! Yeah, right. You said it yourself. We're trapped on the other side of a wormhole. There's no way they can find us now."

"Queen Allura won't stop looking for you, your majesty. Not until she either brings you back home alive, or discovers your body dead."

"Whoa! Aren't you just a ray of waznlight!" Lance frowned, crossing his arms.

"Waznlight?" Hunk finally spoke. "What is that?"

"Oh! Of course you don't know. The Altean star is called Wazn... But don't worry..." Lance leaned in and continued in a whisper. "The author totally made it up. It's not cannon."

"What's a cannon?" Keith wondered.

"Welp! I think that's enough questions for one day." Lance exclaimed. "If we continue on like this, we'll never get a chance to progress the plot! Now, tell me... what was your name again?.. Pidge? Hunk?Yeah, I think that was it. Do you know how to fix a semi mechanical, semi magical robot kitty?"

Pidge and Hunk looked to one another, then back to Lance. They seemed very confused. "Uh... no" Pidge answered.

"Aw... Well, how about food? I'm starving!"


	5. Stupid Keith, Stupid Crabs

Hunk walked in with a tray of brown liquid beverages is mugs. What was it he said they were? Hot chocolate! In his other hand he held a second tray of small round food, about the size of Lance's palm. Those were called cookies, but were apparently not made by cooking. They were instead created with the art form known as baking.

Lance learned a lot of cool stuff such as this in the few Vargas he had arrived at Hunk's cabin. Or, hours as the humans called it apparently. All the names sounded so fake to Lance. Who ever heard of something called a hour, minute, or second? It was so dumb!

Oh, and Lance finally learned the meaning of the word fuck! Pidge was over joyed to answer _that_ one. It was apparently her favorite word! Lance much preferred quiznak however. Even Pidge seemed to like it better, vowing to use it from time to time. "Ha! They won't even know what I'm saying! I'll be able to get away with so much more!" She laughed maniacally behind her goggles, which weren't goggles at all, but something called glasses.

As well as Lance and Keith learning much about Earth culture, Pidge and Hunk got a few facts about Altea. Lance didn't know much about life outside the Castle of Lions however, so Keith had to fill in most of Lance's blanks.

"How about the Galra?" Hunk asked, setting the two trays down for the others to snack on. "Keith, you're half Altean, and half Galra, right? You still haven't said anything about what that is."

Keith shifted nervously on the couch. He was sitting in between Pidge, who was on the left side of the couch, and Lance, who was to his right. Hunk took his seat on one of the single person chairs.

Lance could feel Keith's uncomfortableness. Especially since he shifted back to his true, purple form. He stood out like a sore thumb. Lance wondered why he didn't just stay in his Altean form, or even a human form. Alas, only a little while after arriving to Hunk's cabin, he reverted right back to his normal self.

"I..." He spoke. "Well... The Galra are..."

"They're like, another species of alien which the Alteans had a... relationship with." Lance answered for him. "They're tall, purple, and more often than not, fluffy. Just like Keith here... well, except for the tall part." He leaned across Keith's lap, and whispered to Pidge. "He's like a midget Galra."

Keith gave him a glare, and pushed him off his lap. "I'm taller than you, your majesty. If you insult me, you are just insulting yourself."

Lance giggled, nudging Keith playfully on the arm. "Aw! Look at him! So small and innocent, yet so easily angered. Cute little Galra Altean servant. I'm only teasing."

Keith retained his poker faced appearance. "I don't find it appropriate to tease in this current situation, sir."

Lance frowned, folding his arms across his chest, and leaning away. "Well I don't think it proper for a servant to speak back to a Prince, but that's just me."

"I think it depends on the circumstances, _your majesty."_ Keith countered through his clenched, razor sharp teeth.

Pidge looked from Lance, to Keith, then back to Lance. "Well then... I see you two are close."

"Well... _currently_ , yes." Lance nodded, eyeing Keith from the corner of his eye. "We are sitting by each other. Not that I chose that."

"Um..." Hunk raised his hand timidly. "Keith sat down first. You sat down next to him second. So, yeah. You did kinda choose that."

Keith smirked, and Lance gave him another scowl. "Nope, nope, nooooope. I don't remember that, so it didn't happen." He shook his head back and forth. "Anyways, we're kinda stuck on this planet, so you could say we are currently close, yes. Not for very much longer however. Once we find a way to fix the lions, then Keith can leave, and I'll finally be home free."

"Yeah, I don't think so your majesty." Keith interjected. "Her majesty, the Queen hired me to protect you, and-"

"Allura's not here!" Lance leaned in towards Keith, sticking his pointer finger at the other boys chest. "Which means, you can't take directions from them any longer. Which also means that you will take orders from me, the Prince. Got that, Keith?"

Keith drew back, his eyebrows furrowed, and mouth in a frown. Lance was leaning in so close, that Keith nearly fell on Pidge trying to keep his distance. "Her majesty, the Queen instr-"

"I just told you! She's not here. And neither is Alfor, or any of his precious advisors. Remember your place Keith." Lance smirked, and finally backed away. "Oh servant!" He called. "May you be ever so kind as to pass a... what was the word? Oh, yes. Hand me one of those cookies if you will."

Keith balled his hands into fists, and bared his teeth. Lance had never seen him so enraged before... He loved it!

Begrudgingly, Keith reached toward the tray, and took one of the cookies. He then held it out for Lance to take. "As you wish, your majesty." He said, words strained.

Pidge looked at Hunk nervously. They seemed to share a silent conversation that went something such as: what the actual quiznak is happening? and, should we leave, or...

Lance looked down at Keith's outstretched palm, and raised an eyebrow. "What are you holding it up for? You expect me to eat it myself?" Lance rested his hands behind his head, and leaned back on the couch. He then opened his mouth wide. When Keith looked at him confused, he clarified. "What? You don't know? I have all my servants feed me by hand. You don't expect a Prince to do it himself, now do you?"

Pidge grinned giddily from behind Keith, and tiptoed off the couch over to Hunk. As she continued watching the odd series of events happening before her, she whispered in Hunk's ear. "Oh my god, what is even my life right now? We just met a pair of flipping aliens, and now they're fighting over a damn cookie! This is too good."

Hunk eyed his friend suspiciously. "Should we like, cut in, or..."

"No, no. Let's just see how things pan out." Pidge responds.

"Since when?" Keith grumbled.

"Since now." Lance smiled. "Now, hurry, hurry. My regal stomach is beginning to grow extremely ravenous." He opened his jaw once more.

"Right... Here you go, your majesty." Keith drew back his cookie holding hand, and slammed it as hard as he possibly could into Lance's face.

The Altean Prince nearly tipped off the seat. His head snapped back, and banged into the couch's metal frame, his face becoming red with impact. Fortunately, the cookie did end up in Lance's mouth, but instead of chewing on it, he was nearly choking on it. He brought his hands to his neck, and let out a gagging noise. Pidge and Hunk leaped up, eyes wide with alert. "Keith!" Hunk yelped. "What did you do that for?"

Keith shrugged, completely unconcerned about the currently suffocating Lance. "He said to feed him. He didn't say how to feed him."

"Keith! You're going to kill him!" Pidge scolded. "W-what do we do? I don't know CPR. Hunk?"

Hunk shook his head. "I never thought I would actually need to use it! Let alone on a quiznaking alien!"

"Keith, do something!" Pidge demanded.

"Don't look at me!" Keith raised his paws. It looked as though he was beginning to panic. He was so angered by what Lance had said, he wasn't considering the fact he needed to keep him safe. "I don't know what to do!" He stood, and grabbed Lance by the shoulders. "Prince! Can you hear me? Prince!"

Lance dug his fingers into his collar, foam forming in his mouth. Keith shook him. "Prince Lance! Snap out of it! Your majesty! Don't die on me yet! Queen Allura will murder me!" Keith smacked Lance across the face once again. This did nothing but give Lance another nasty hand marking.

"Keith! Stop smacking him! That's doing nothing!" Pidge turned to Hunk. "Go in the kitchen. There's an old book on safety and survival. It may have instructions on CPR."

"G-got it!" Hunk scuttled across the hardwood floor, and banged open the kitchen door. Only a tick later (or second as they called it), the shrieking Hunk ran back out. "GAAAAHHHHH! They're here! They've found me!"

"What? Who? What happened? Where's the book?" Pidge looked at her friend frantically. "Hurry up! Lance is about to die!"

"The crab!" Hunk whispered, as though the creature was listening just behind him. "It found me. And this time, it's brought backup."

"What?!" Pidge cried. "How in the world did they get here?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Hunk flailed his tan, chubby arms in the air. "IM KINDA FLIPPING OUT HERE, MAN! WHAT DO I DO! I-I THEY'RE HERE TO EAT ME! I KNOW IT! IT WAS ALL MY FAULT! I SHOULD'VE NEVER COME TO THIS CAMP! I SHOULD HAVE NEVER STEPPED ON ITS HEAD! WELL, THAT WAS ON ACCIDENT, BUT STILL!"

"Keith, I need your assistance." Pidge called.

Keith removed his hands from Lance's shoulders, and nodded in confirmation. He went up to the still shouting Hunk, and smacked him across the face. "Ow!" Hunk cried, rubbing his now red cheek. "No need for violence."

"Hunk!" Pidge grabbed Hunk's arms, and forced him to face her. "Lance is about to die. Like die, die. This is no time to be screaming over some sea creature! Now, get in there, and get the damn book, unless you want to join Lance in the afterlife. GOT THAT!"

"Yes ma'am!" Hunk squeaked.

"Good, now go!"

Hunk raced into the kitchen. Almost imminently later, he ran out, book in hand, and crab on nose. "PIIIIIIDDDDDDGGGGGEEEEEE IT'S GOT ME!" A group of about five other large red crabs were also chasing after him. Hunk frantically circled around the room, trying to outrun the creatures. He tossed the large instruction manual across the room, and it landed gracefully into Pidge's arms.

Pidge placed the book down, and swiftly opened to the table of contents. Hunk and Lance continued their freakout as both Keith and Pidge searched for something that read CPR.

Lance collapsed. Keith swiftly raced to his young master's aid, cradling him in his arms. Lance's pupils had rolled back in his head, and foam continued to bubble in his mouth. Keith placed a ear on Lance's chest to make sure he was still alive. Not good... Only one of his hearts was still beating. "Don't you die on me Prince Lance!" Keith demanded. "If you die, I'm next."

The front entrance creaked open. All three conscious teens turned to face the new arrival. A tall, buff man with a prosthetic arm, and a scar across his nose, held a bundle of newly chopped firewood. When he saw the chaos, the wood imminently fell from his hands to the floor.

"Shiro!" Pidge called out, relieved. "Help us... please."

***

Lance was now sitting on the single seated chair, brooding over the previous series of events. Stupid Keith... Stupid crabs.

Shiro sat in between Hunk and Pidge on the couch. Keith stood near, but not too near Lance by the fireplace. He looked guilty, but Lance didn't care! He had nearly murdered him! All Lance was doing was playing around. He didn't mean to get Keith upset. Well... not that upset.

Lance admitted he was having fun at first, teasing Keith for a change. He didn't have time to tease, or even talk with Keith back in the castle, because Lance was too busy trying to escape him. Plus, back then Allura and his father were still there to watch over him. Lance used to feel as though he had no power. But here? Lance got a little too carried away. Finally a chance to boss Keith around for once. That's all he wanted, and what was the outcome? A cookie to the face. How unfair.

"Ok... Let me get this straight..." Shiro muttered, still quite flustered over the situation. Lance didn't blame him either. He had to perform CPR on an alien, fend off a posey of ferocious crabs, and stop a fire which Hunk accidentally set off while trying to chase away the last crab. To be honest, Lance found the progression of this story quite odd. "You are an alien called an Altean, and also a Prince." Shiro continued, looking in Lance's direction. "And you are a mixture of the alien species, Altean and Galra, as well as Lance's bodyguard."

"Yes." Keith confirmed.

"And you came here via... wormhole? Riding giant mechanical... lion robots?"

"Kitty cruisers." Lance nodded. "Like the name? I came up with it just now."

"Right..." Shiro muttered. "And you're stuck here for who knows long, without a ride, or communication to your home planet..."

"Yep!" Lance smiled from ear to ear, getting over his short lived mood swing. "And it's great! Well... except for one part." Lance eyed Keith accusingly.

"What are you planning on doing then?" Shiro asked, placing his real and prosthetic hands in his lap. Similar to Hunk and Pidge, he wore a black and gray striped tank top, and gray knee length shorts. Lance was jealous. He wanted comfortable clothing such as that. He was stuck wearing his muddy, worn armor however. Maybe he should ask later if he could borrow some of their clothing.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked curiously.

"You know... food, water, shelter. How are you planning on surviving until help arrives? If it ever does."

"Well, first of all. We don't need to drink water, so we're covered on that one." Lance puffed his chest out confidently. "About the other things... You know, I'm not really one to worry about the future. I like to live my life to the fullest by staying in the present."

"We have no clue." Keith translated. "So, please. I know it's a lot to ask of us. And seeing the sheer amount of information you've had to process in these last few var- I mean hours, I am almost embarrassed to ask of you. But, please. We have very little knowledge of this planet, and how it functions. I can manage, but his majesty Prince Lance... He doesn't stand a chance."

"Hey!" Lance complained. "I so do stand a chance, thank you very much."

"He doesn't stand a chance." Keith repeated, ignoring Lance's previous statement. "So, if it's not too much trouble, would you please consider helping us... At least until we discover the ins and outs of this planet."

Everyone turned their attention to Shiro. Being the oldest (out of the humans that is), and the most mature, everyone looked to him for what to do. "Hmm..." Shiro muttered. "Well, it's not everyday we meet such... extraterrestrial visitors. And I do know an empty cabin you two can both stay in. I'll have to get Slav's permission beforehand of course, but I think this could work!"

"Does that mean they can join the camp's activities?" Hunk asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Lance held up a finger. "Camp? What is that? And what are camp activities?" Lance grew pale. "Don't tell me... you're not going to make us fight to the death, are you? Because, I'm much too young to die. I haven't even reached my sweet one hundredth yet!"

"No fighting to the death." Pidge assured. "A camp is like... It's a place away from society, with no wifi, or clean toilets. Camp activities include fun stuff like archery, soccer, horseback riding, and other cool junk."

"Me, Hunk, and Pidge have come to this same camp every summer since our elementary school years. And now that we're older, we finally afforded to buy permanent cabins."

"We only stay in them during the summertime with our families of course." Hunk added. "There is no way my parents would allow me the stay here all summer, cabin or no. Even though i'm eighteen, they... Well, they like to keep track of me... They're kinda..."

"Possessive?" Pidge suggested.

Hunk scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah... That's the word."

"Families?" Lance perked up. "Where?"

"Mine are out until friday." Hunk explained. "Trip to the tropics."

"My brother and father are likely fishing. I don't know about my mother." Pidge shrugged. "Likely doing her nails in the cabin or something."

Lance nodded, then turned to Shiro. Shiro paused for a tick, then widened his eyes. "Oh? Is it my turn?" He let out a nervous laugh. "Well... I'm actually here alone this summer... No family, so..."

The temperature in the cabin seemed to drop in that single instance. Shiro gave a smile, and waved his left hand in the air. "Sorry, didn't mean to be the downer of this situation. I think of you two as family, so don't worry about me."

Pidge and Hunk gave him a strained smile in response. Keith leaned against the wall, wearing his signature poker face. Wow, the atmosphere really had turned grim. This wasn't what Lance wanted! He put on a big bright smile and said, "So, about these activities..."


	6. Nothing Wrong With Being Purple

Lance had no idea what fish were, or why one would ever want to catch them, but he was excited to find out.

It was nearly dark when they began their first activity. Hunk gave Lance and Keith a nice old makeover, with some old clothes he had stored away in his closet. They were much too big for the both of them, but hey, Lance made anything work.

Lance choose to wear a plaid, blue button up shirt, and baggy ripped jeans. He wasn't quite sure who ripped them, but thought they looked cooler because of it. Keith wasn't as exciting. He choose to wear a plain black t shirt, gray pants, and boots with a touch of red.

Their first activity of the day: fishing! Shiro suggested it, against Hunk's wishes. Even after fending off those crabs, he still believed they could return at any moment. Especially at the beach, where Hunk said they lived.

When the five new pals got to the wooden platform called a dock, Pidge got out a long stick looking thing, with a red handle on one end, and a string and hook on the other for herself and Hunk. It looked like some sort of elaborate torture device.

Pidge demonstrated how it worked, by tossing the hook into the water. Hunk did the same, and Shiro sat off to the side in a lawn chair. He had a drink in his hand, and a book in his prosthetic arm. He also wore thick shades, which helped in pretending to be awake.

Lance watched intently as the line sat still in the water. He waited a few ticks... then a few dobashs... then he was bored. "When's it going to happen?" Lance frowned. "Is the fush, or whatever you call it, going to come?"

"Ok, first of all." Pidge began. "It's pronounced fish, and second of all, fishing requires patience."

"Pshh! I'm like the most patient person I know!" Lance stated confidently. Keith rolled his eyes.

"Ok then, Mr. Wise Guy." Pidge winded her string back out of the water, and settled the fishing rod back down on the dock. She then grabbed one of her other fishing rods, and impaled some sort of wiggly pink creature onto the hook. "You try then."

She handed Lance the rod. He took it, and smirked confidently. "Oh, I so got this."

"Um, hmm." Keith mumbled sarcastically.

Pidge took her last fishing rod, and handed it to Keith. He looked at it confused. "What?" Pidge asked. "Don't you wanna try too?"

"Oh..." Keith nodded, then took the fishing rod. "Oh, ok."

Lance and Keith tossed the pink impaled creatures into the water, and waited. Pidge and Hunk did the same, while Shiro began to snore on his lawn chair.

Lance waited for a few ticks... then a dobash... then a few dobashs... damn it, he was bored again. "Nothing's happening!" Lance complained.

Pidge looked at him, annoyed. "I told you already. You need patients. As I remember, you said something such as: 'Pshh! I'm like, the most patient person I know!'" She did her best Lance impression, doing his signature puffing out of the chest. "Or was that just a lie?"

"In my defense!" Lance held his pointer finger up. "... um..."

He looked to Keith for help. He shrugged his shoulders like, what do you want me to say?

Pidge let out a sigh. "Fine..." She grumbled. "If you seriously want to be that impatient, there is a better spot we can go to."

Lance's pointy ears perked up. "Oh? Do tell."

Pidge pointed her finger to the ocean. "There."

Hunk shook his head quickly. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He stuttered. "I thought you said we didn't have to go out there! The crabs... They've already prepared an ambush for my arrival!"

"How do you know that?" Pidge rolled her eyes.

"I just do!"

"Oooo! So, do we like swim to catch the fush?" Lance asked excitably.

"Nope." Pidge shook her head. "Even better."

***

Canoes are scary. Especially while sitting in one in the middle of an endless blue ocean. Pidge said they weren't meant for oceans, and instead for something called a lake or river. Shiro assured it would be ok however, since the waves weren't too high today. Shiro also told Hunk that he would be waiting just on the shore if another crab ambush were to occur. The big guy begrudgingly agreed, and hopped in one of the canoes with Pidge. Keith got in with Lance, despite Lance's many protests. "Why can't I go alone?" He wined.

"Because I'm responsible for keeping you alive." Keith replied.

Now that the two groups were far enough from the shore, then tossed their hooks into the ocean. Lance began to grow nervous as the two boats drifted further and further away from one another. He wasn't really sure why however. Perhaps he didn't want to be alone with the guy who had nearly choked him just vargas ago.

"Ok, Keith." He said, attempting to ignore the odd squeamish feeling. "We can't lose. We have to blow them away with the sheer amount of these fushes we catch."

"Aren't they called fishes?" Keith asked.

"Umm... I don't think so." Lance rubbed his chin. "Maybe it's fyshes, or fashes?"

"I don't think that's right either."

"Well, whatever. The point is we need to win. So get to fushing!"

Keith nodded. "Yes, your majesty." He answered, turning his attention back to the water. Further away, Lance saw Hunk real in his hook. The group of humans did a high five as Hunk held up their first fishy victim. Lance pouted, and looked at his fishing rod impatiently. This may take awhile...

Quite awhile passed with zero activity. Well, at least for team red and blue (Lance's chosen team name). Team green and yellow were having all the luck in the world. They reeled in fish after fish, some small, most big. Lance groaned dramatically, and furrowed his white eyebrows. "Why do we suck at this? Are the fushes scared of us or something?"

"They've probably never seen a purple Altean Galra hybrid before." Keith explained in a mumble, the corners of his mouth drooping.

Lance looked at him in concern. Why did he feel concerned? He wasn't sure... It wasn't like him to care for others problems. Still, seeing Keith so sad made him feel... well, sad too. And that was not acceptable! Keith could be depressed all he wanted, Lance didn't care. But once he began making Lance feel sad too? Now, that was just selfish! He needed to act, and quickly. Team red and blue were already losing by a lot, Lance didn't want to get behind any further. "Um..." He muttered, not quite sure what to say. "You know... There's no reason for the fush to be scared..."

Keith looked up at Lance, and eyed him suspiciously. This sent an odd pinging in Lance's chest. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything... Now Keith was going to get the impression that Lance was actually a caring person! And that was just plain untrue!

Welp... guess it was already too late now. Might as well continue. "I mean, like... There is nothing wrong with being purple, and stuff... or having glowing yellow eyes... or being furry... or having razor sharp teeth and claws."

Keith's shoulders raised, and back straightened. The canoe didn't give them much room to maneuver around. They faced each other, seated on two wooden planks attached to either side of the boat. They had to turn their heads around to face the water, which wasn't too comfortable for the neck. Keith, still holding onto the fishing rod, responded. "Well, uh... Sure, there's nothing wrong with me..."

Lance smiled. "Exactly!"

"But-" Keith continued. "Sure, there may be nothing wrong with me personally, but that doesn't make my looks any less scary to behold... It's not anyone's fault, it's just nature. Creatures are drawn to beauty and repelled by... well, things such as this." Keith bared his teeth, and pointed to his ferocious face. "But, it's nothing. Don't worry about it, there's nothing I can do."

Shapeshifting, Lance thought, but knew better than to say it aloud. Lance didn't get it! All Keith needed to do was change his color and amount of hair to look completely Altean! Well... almost. His eyes were still an issue, but that was only a small detail. It just didn't make any sense why he chose to stay this way...

"Well... I don't think you're the opposite of beauty!" Lance protested. "Personally, I find your looks very beautiful- gah! I mean... uh... ignore that last part." Lance tore his eyes away from Keith and back to the water in front of him. His face had grown flushed, and ears warm. "You aren't scary in my eyes or anything... I, uh... I think Galras are actually pretty cute- QUIZNAK! Ignore that last part too."

Keith looked very confused, but nodded. Perhaps against his better judgement, Lance continued. "You know, I don't get why people are so against purple! I mean, it's not as good as blue obviously, but it's not a bad color by any means. And fur! Why are people so scared of a little fur? Me personally, I love the stuff! It feels so soft... especially rugs... Man, I really like rugs. You know, I would totally marry a rug if I could... oh, wait. Did I say something weird again? Quiznak... uh... yeah, so anyways, the weather's pretty neat, am I right, or am I right?"

Lance turned back to Keith, expecting an angry or baffled reaction. Instead, he was smiling. A honest to Voltron, legitimate grin! When Lance's eyes met Keith's he froze. He had never seen Keith this genuinely happy before. Come to think of it, had Lance ever seen Keith smile before? He couldn't recall! Either way, he liked the look on Keith. It suited him. Especially with that cute fang hanging from the right side of his mouth. Quiznak... He needed to stop thinking about stuff like that.

"Wow..." Keith mumbled. "Thank you, your majesty... no one has ever told me that before."

"What? No one's ever told you about their attraction to rugged carpets?"

"No... no one's ever told me they think I'm beautiful before."

"What? I didn't say that!"

"Uh, yeah you did. Like, a few ticks ago."

"Nope, nope, nope, Noooopppppeee! Don't remember it, didn't happen." Lance shook his head.

Keith rolled his eyes, but kept a smirk. "Yeah, let's just go with that.

Suddenly, Keith's string moved in the water. Both Lance and Keith turned their attention back to the line, and yelled frantically. "It's moving! Something's pulling! What do I do?" Keith asked.

"Pull it up! The lever! Turn it, and pull!" Lance screamed back, and stood. From a distance, Hunk and Pidge watched in confusion. "Quickly! Catch the fush! Pull it out of the water, and punch it!"

"Why would I need to punch it?" Keith stood as well, pulling the reel with all his might.

The canoe nearly tipped over, but Lance threw his arms out to steady it. "I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'D NEED TO PUNCH IT! I'M PANICKING! WHAT DO WE DO?"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME ALL OF A SUDDEN?"

"I DON'T KNOW, WHY ARE YOU YELLING?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Keith tugged at the reel, but the fish fought back. It must have been pretty strong, as it was nearly toppled the boat over. Or, perhaps that was due to the two boys standing. Were you supposed to stand on canoes? Lance didn't see any harm in it, but he could easily be wrong.

Keith finally got the upper hand. He drew the hook in with surprising ease. "It feels... lighter." Keith noted, as the line pulled the hook out of the water. There was no fish. "Wha- it got away!"

"Aw, well..." Lance frowned. "That's ok. We got close at least."

Keith bared his fangs, and clenched his purple, taloned paws. "That's it. I'm sick of this."

"Wait, KEITH!" Lance attempted to stop him, but it was already too late. Keith dove head first into the sea, and disappeared under the dark inky water in a flash. "You aren't a crab! You can't breath in liquids!"

Lance leaned over the side of the canoe, and scanned the surface water for any sign of Keith. No use. The purple Altean/Galra was completely gone! Hunk and Pidge threw down their rods, and began rowing towards his canoe.

Lance was just about to jump in after him when Keith emerged from the surface, spraying water every which way. Lance's shirt and hair got completely soaked, but he was too relieved to care. "Keith! What did you do that for?"

"Your majesty!" Keith said, after spitting saltwater from his mouth. "The fish is still nearby. It's hiding itself in a small, underwater cave. I believe I can retrieve it. Hang on."

"Keith! Wait, you don't have to-" Once again, it was too late. Keith took a big breath in before diving back into the water. Lance waited fearfully for him to come up once more.

About twenty ticks later, Keith emerged. Held in his right hand, was a wiggly, silver fish about three times the size of Keith's head. Lance grinned from ear to ear. "Ha! A fush! You've caught the fush!"

"As you instructed, your majesty." Keith was smiling proudly, his claws digging into the poor fish's scales. Lance pumped his arms into the air in celebration, causing the canoe to shake violently. Before Pidge or Hunk could even warn him, the boat flipped over, sending Lance flying into the air. Keith gasped, his eyes widening as Lance's body came tumbling from above.

Lance plunged into the water right on top of Keith, sending them both below the surface. Pidge and Hunk called out, but knew it was already too late.

Lance opened his eyes, his white hair standing on end in the water. He turned himself in attempt to locate Keith. He was only a few feet below Lance, still holding tightly to their new catch. Lance flashed a smile down at him, and Keith gave a grin back. A tick later, they both floated back up to the surface. Pidge and Hunk let out sighs of relief as the two Alteans caught their breath.

As he swayed in the water, Lance began to laugh. This situation! It was just so ridiculous! In his wildest dreams, he would have never imagined this! On an alien planet, with his new human buddies, and old bodyguard, but new friend Keith, swaying in a endless sea of water just to catch a single fish! All this, and he had only been away from the Castle in little less than a day! Not to mention that damn choking/crab scenario. It was all so crazy... and Lance loved it! Oh, if Father and Allura could see him now.

Lance changed his focus to Keith, a tear from all the laughter trailing down his cheek. The Altean Galra was looking back with a grin. That grin then turned to a smile, then finally a laugh. He laughed so hard, that he loosened his grip, and let the fish fall from his hand. Seeing this, Lance and Keith paused for a tick, made eye contact with one another, then burst out laughing even harder than before. Pidge and Hunk looked at the two as though they were crazy, but didn't dare to disturb them.

Overall, it turned out to be a very successful fishing trip.

***

Lance and Keith laid down next to one another on the sand. The sun (Earth's star) had already disappeared over the horizon, and the two were staring up in awe at the star filled night sky.

The stars... none of them looked familiar. All the constellations Lance was forced to study... none were visible. It was quite amazing really. Imagine, every planet in the entire universe with a completely different perspective of the stars around it... Kinda like an oil painting. They were all completely different and unique... well, maybe that wasn't the best comparison. But Lance simply had to make it! He loved oil paints even more than rugs, and that was saying something. Lance really loved rugs. Especially fluffy ones.

Lance let out a sigh. "Ahh... sweet, sweet rugs."

"Uh... what?" Keith asked, turning his attention to the before silent Lance. "Did you say something, your majesty?"

"Oh... uh..." Lance blushed. "Noooooooo. Nothing at all." He paused. "You know... I don't really like that name... your majesty, I mean. Too... regal I guess. I don't know."

"Shall I call you Prince Lance instead?"

"Umm..." Lance thought. He didn't really like that title either. "How about just Lance?"

Keith paused, and looked back up to the sky. Noises of laughing and splashing could be heard in the distance. Shiro had finally joined Hunk and Pidge's activity, swimming around in the sea. Supposably Hunk had forgotten all about his previous crustacean phobia, and was back to playing along with his friends in the water. Lance and Keith decided to go dry off with the towels Shiro provided, after taking that little dive in the ocean themselves. Lance was nearly dried, but Keith, with his longer hair, was having a harder time.

"That wouldn't be appropriate." Keith gave his answer to Lance's earlier statement. "I'm only a servant. It's not right for me to address you informally."

Lance frowned, and sat back up. He looked down at Keith, and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, dude?" He asked. "You've slapped me not once, but twice in a single day, nearly choked me with a cookie, and scolded me multiple times since coming here. Do you think that behavior is very appropriate for a servant?"

Keith glared back up at Lance with his glowing yellow eyes. He had his head propped up on his arms, and legs crossed at the feet. A much too casual position for a supposed 'formal servant'.

"...I'm sorry your majes- I mean Lance. From a young age, I've been taught proper etiquette whilst speaking to my superiors. It will be difficult to get used to the name..."

Lance wanted to tell Keith that he wasn't his superior. But, who was he kidding. Though Lance didn't necessarily want to be above Keith class wise, he couldn't help it. It was just how they were born. Though, here on Earth it seemed as though the old class system didn't even matter. That was one aspect of the place which Lance really loved. "Who taught you?" Lance asked. "Did they teach you that in school maybe?"

"No... not exactly...." He answered.

"What do you mean not exactly?" Lance narrowed his eyes at Keith.

"I don't know." Keith shrugged from his resting position on the sand. "I didn't have the most normal of childhoods... I joined the Altean army at the young age of thirty six. Before that... That's when I got my education. You could say... my mom homeschooled me?"

"Oh my Voltron!" Lance held back his giggle. He didn't even know why he was laughing. Just what Keith said... it sounded so ridiculous! How could the intelligent, war veteran Keith only have schooling up to thirty six years? Even Lance had more than that, and he was a complete idiot!

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" Lance fell back down on his back, and gazed up at the night sky once more. No matter how many times he saw it, he never got tired of the view. "Just thinking about something else."

"Something such as?"

Lance thought... "Well... I was just thinking..." He shifted nervously in his resting position. "It's just that... Today was really fun, you know. Like, the most fun I've had in awhile."

Keith went silent. Lance wanted to look over and read his expression, but was much too afraid. Was he mad? Sad? Both? It was hard to say.

What felt like a lifetime passed before Keith finally spoke up. "I'm glad to hear that, your majesty. But, don't get too attached. We only need to stay here for a little while, until help finally arrives."

"Yeah, I know, I know... but still... didn't you like, have a good time too?" Lance's toes anxiously wiggled in his shoes. He couldn't seem to keep still! This normally happened to Lance in uncomfortable situations. He turned to a fidgeting, mumbling mess. "You know. Because, you looked pretty happy out there, and stuff."

"It's not important how I looked or felt." Keith stated bluntly. "I'm only here to keep you safe, nothing more."

"Ok, ok." Lance rolled his eyes. Keith was so cold sometimes! "Sure, but you have to admit. You totally are loving being here. I saw you in the water. You looked so happy! And well... I think it suits you."

Keith paused, then raised into a seated position. He laid his arms on his legs, and narrowed his eyes at Lance. "What suits me?" He asked.

"Your smile!" Lance rephrased as though the answer was obvious. "You look really good when you're happy."

"... Thank you." Keith smiled.

His yellow eyes were glowing bright in the darkness, illuminating his face and hair. He looked like a fluffy, purple angle. Lance's heart sped up an extra mile per dobash (or minute as his new alien friends called it). He smiled back, and sat up as well. "Well then... I think I'm dry now, so I'll be joining the others now." Lance looked to Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro. Pidge was standing atop both Shiro's and Hunk's head, yelling out in victory. Then suddenly, she lost balance and fell back into the water. All three of them burst out laughing. "You know..." Lance continued. "Might as well get wet again, right after I finished drying off."

Keith nodded, and they both stood. "Very well Prince Lance... I mean Lance. I shall escort you."


	7. Miss Them Dearly

It's been a week and a half since Pidge first met the strange new aliens Lance and Keith. She was shocked at first when she saw Keith's intimidating face and claws, but over time she learned his true self. Though Keith pretended to be a stone faced, uncaring bodyguard, Pidge saw right through the mask, and discovered a sweet, caring, if a bit hot headed teenage boy. One with many buried emotions, and insecurities.

Pidge didn't know much about Galra or Altean relations, but it must have been terribly tough for Keith. People either labeling him as a full Galra, a full Altean, or some sort of hybrid atrocity. But Keith was neither of those. Keith was Keith, and that's who he will always be. No matter what he does to try and change himself, he will always be unique from others, and that was perfectly ok.

Along with that, Pidge began to notice something more interesting in her time hanging with Lance and Keith. Though she felt ashamed for assuming things, or perhaps hoping for something that was none of her business, Pidge couldn't help it. Lance and Keith were way too touchy to just be friends.

When the three of them first met, Pidge assumed that the two weren't quite on the best terms; with all the fighting and evil glared and such. But, since the fishing trip, Pidge noticed Lance and Keith beginning to grow closer and closer. For example, at this current moment while roasting marshmallows around Shiro's fire circle, Keith and Lance were sitting very close. And when she says very close, she means very close. Like, even uncomfortably so. Their legs and shoulders were clearly touching, and they seemed completely oblivious to it! The log that they rested on wasn't even small! It had plenty of room for four people at least! But there Lance and Keith were, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh. When one leaned forward to bring their marshmallow closer to the fire, the other followed! It was so obvious, damn it! And no one seemed to even notice! It made Pidge furious!

Now, Pidge knew she shouldn't be poking around in other people's love life, but come on! The sexual tension was suffocating her! She had to vent to someone!

Pidge leaned closer to Hunk's ear. They were sitting across from Lance and Keith on their own log. Shiro was off grabbing firewood. Luckily, Lance and Keith didn't seem to notice when Pidge whispered to Hunk about them. "Hey, Hunk. Haven't you noticed Lance and Keith being awfully touchy lately?"

Hunk shoved another s'more into his mouth, and answered through a mouthful of food. "No. What are you saying?" He eyed his friend suspiciously. "You're not getting another one of your evil schemes, are you?"

"What! Of course not! What evil schemes?"

"Um... nothing." Hunk ate another s'more in one gulp.

"You've noticed nothing? But it's so obvious! Just look at them!"

Hunk narrowed his focus across the fire, to the two smiling aliens. Lance was currently attempting to stuff four marshmallows in between two graham crackers, and Keith was inspecting his s'more in confusion. He had accidentally switched the chocolate with the graham cracker, and was trying to figure out what exactly he did wrong. "I don't know Pidge." Hunk mumbled back. "They seemed to hate each other when we first met them."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hate is a strong word." Pidge gazed up at the stars, and sighed lovingly. "You just need to look at this arrangement with a... different perspective. Perhaps they aren't rivals, but... more like pining lovers, who are drawn apart because of the fear of ridicule from their families, and inability to commitment to relationships and long lasting love. But an odd nagging feeling keeps on bringing the two together, until they can't take it any longer! They let all their feelings out, and declare their burning love for one another! But then, one of them gets hit by a car, and has to be swiftly taken to the hospital. There, the two cradle each other in their arms, and cry as they watch their lives crumble before their eyes. But then, the person with the broken body wakes, and refuses to let the greedy claws of death take them away! And it works, because the force known as love is much too powerful to let anything split it apart!"

Hunk blinked. "Uh..." he mumbled. "Pidge, I think you read too much fan fiction. What the hell was that one from?"

Pidge turned to Hunk, smiled maliciously, and winked slyly. "Oh, nothing of any importance."

"Ok..." Hunk placed his hands on Pidge's shoulders. "But, I really don't think you should be getting mixed up in other people's private matters."

"Pshh! I'm not! I was only... curious, that's all."

Shiro walked in. He had a stack of firewood in his good arm, and a backpack around his shoulder. "Brought more marshmallows!" He announced. "Because someone wouldn't stop stuffing their s'mores with as much as they possibly could."

Everyone turned to Lance. He looked back with a face full of marshmallow. "Waaa?"

"Thank you Shiro!" Hunk gleamed, reaching for the backpack.

"Whoa, whoa!" Shiro stopped him. "I think you've had enough for today, Hunk. I don't want you getting sick."

Pidge laughed at him. "Ha! You heard him Hunk! No more s'mores for you." Pidge reached over to grab the bag, but Shiro hastily stopped her as well! "Hey!" She protested. "I didn't eat as much as him!"

"Pidge, you've had like, seven. I think that's just plenty." Shiro tossed a piece of wood into the fire. It blazed brightly for a second, then died back down to a normal size.

Pidge crossed her arms, and huffed. It was no fair! Hunk always got more. Lance grabbed the backpack, and pulled out the bag of marshmallows. When Shiro didn't make a move to stop him, Pidge spoke up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! He gets more? But, he ate like the entire bag last time!"

"Alteans need to eat more than humans." Lance explained through a mouthful of food. "We eat six meals a day, and you guys only eat three. How do ya'll even live?"

"I don't know." Pidge huffed. "How are ya'll speaking English?"

"I'm speaking Altean, thank you very much. It's just... similar. Very, very similar." Lance shoved another handful of marshmallows into his mouth. He attempted to hand Keith one, but the Altean Galra politely refused. Perhaps he was still embarrassed with not understanding the simple s'more concept.

Pidge adjusted her glasses, and glanced back at Shiro. He took a seat next to Hunk on the log, and tossed another log into the fire. "Hmm... It's getting pretty late." He smiled, an evil plan forming in his mind. "You know what that means."

"Uh, oh..." Hunk's eyes bugged. "Not again!"

"Wha? Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Lance's pointed ears perked.

"Ghost stories." Pidge and Shiro grinned in unison.

***

"Alright." Shiro began. Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Keith had shifted their positions so they were all sitting on one log, and Shiro was standing on the other side of the fire, face illuminated in the firelight. Hunk was sitting on the far left end, and Pidge next to him. Lance, shocker, was leaning against Keith on the other side. They all watched in anticipation for Shiro to continue. "Once upon a time, in a far away place, and at an unspecified hour, there was a boy."

Hunk gasped. "I'm a boy... I already don't like where this is going." He squeaked.

"Shh!" Pidge put a finger to her mouth, shutting up the fearful Hunk.

"The boy was in his home alone with no supervision." Shiro continued. "When, suddenly, he heard a tap, tap, tap at his door."

Hunk held his breath. Pidge rolled her eyes. Lance and Keith were both listening intently. "So, this boy walked up to the door, and looked through the peephole. But, there was no one there, so he went back to watching tv."

Pidge already knew how this tale was going to turn out. Though Shiro was her friend, she had to admit. He was awful at storytelling. Especially scary stories, with him always shoving in an unnecessary life lesson at the end. Things such as: don't keep the water running, or the zombie plumber will come and sue you! Or, always eat your vegetables, or you'll begin turning into a vegetable! So terrifying!

"But the tapping came back again! So the boy went to the door once more, and checked through the peephole. But, still no one was there. This made the boy grow impatient, as he believed it was some sort of cruel prank! So, the boy opened the door, stuck his head out the window, and shouted at the top of his lungs 'I know you're out there! Stop knocking on the door!' But then, something awful happened! The boy..."

All four audience members leaned in.

"Died!" Shiro concluded by wiggling his fingers mystically over the fire light, and letting out a cheesy "oooooo."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Pidge was the first to speak up. "Uh... wow... how scary."

Shiro nodded. "It just goes to show. Answering the door for strangers is never a smart option."

"What's a peephole?" Lance asked curiously.

"Boo!" Pidge heckled. "That wasn't scary! Here, let me tell a true ghost story. An actually scary one."

Shiro shrugged, and switched places with Pidge. In the fire light, her glasses gleamed unnaturally, creating a scary illusion. Before Pidge began, she made sure to show off her bloodcurdling grin. "I call this story, The Dead Campers Revenge!"

Hunk jumped in his seat. "OMG! We're in camp..." He whispered to Shiro, grabbing his arm for protection.

"The story begins in a camp, all too similar to this very one." Pidge continued. "And with a girl, not too much older than Hunk."

"Gah! Why me?" Hunk's eyes were beginning to water.

"The girl was very excited when her parents finally allowed her alone in her own rented cabin, the summer just before college. She packed only the bare essentials, and called up her friends to join her. When she and her group of three friends arrived, they instantly ran into the cabin, and got settled in. But... something was different. The girl had this odd, nagging sensation crawling throughout her body. Almost like... someone was watching her."

Pidge proceeded with her story. The entire time, Hunk cowering behind his brave bodyguard, Shiro. Lance looked entertained as Pidge continued her tale of the murdered camper of 1985, and her revenge on the group who stole her cabin. Keith was less pleased however. Though Pidge saw how hard he was trying to appear unaltered, she saw beneath the surface and into Keith's horrified yellow eyes. She almost felt bad for scaring him so bad, seeing as though he didn't actually know for sure if there were such things as ghosts on this strange, new planet. Him and Lance have only been here for little less than two weeks after all. Maybe she should have thought this through before encouraging Shiro's suggestion. Oh well... too late to go back now. Might as well end the story with a bang!

Pidge continued. "The girl ran into the woods. Ahead of her, she finally got a glimpse of hope. A gas station, aka: a sign of civilization. Though it was dark, luckily the place was still open. She slammed through the door, and yelled to the front desk. 'Phone! I need a phone! I need to call my family!' The old women behind the counter faced the girl with her glowing, white irises. Her old, wrinkled face smirked maliciously in the darkness. 'Oh hello there sweetie.' The old woman cackled, her face shifting form. 'I've missed you.' The young camper went pale as she watched the old woman's face transform before her very eyes, into the young childlike features of the murdered camper of 1985. And, without a chance to even scream, the ghosts leaped from the counter, grabbing the girl by the neck, and strangling her until her face turned black and blue, and blood began pouring from her mouth, down her chin. They both vanished, never to be seen again. Well... I wouldn't say never. Just be reminded, if you take a visit to the dead girl's cabin of 1985, you will not be greeted by one, but two unfriendly residents." Pidge took a bow. "The End."

Lance stood, and applauded. "Whoa!" He cooed. "That was scary! Was it true?"

"O-of course not!" Hunk cut in. "It wasn't... right? Right Pidge, it wasn't, right?"

"Don't worry." Shiro patted the shaking Hunk on his head. He was still clinging tightly to the older humans arm. "Ghosts aren't real. There is nothing to worry about."

Hunk finally removed his hands from Shiro, and crossed them across his chest. "Pshh! Of course I knew that! I was just... pretending to be scared. You know, for Pidge's sake."

"Hey!" Pidge furrowed her eyebrows, her glasses still reflecting an eerie glow from the fire light. "You were hella terrified! Don't even lie!"

"Noooooooo." Hunk shook his head, his eyes darting around, as if something was going to jump out at him. "I wasn't scared, but Lance totally was."

"Me?" Lance looked offended. "Why makes you think that? If anything, Keith was the coward here!"

"Um... no." Keith frowned. "I've fought in the front lines against Lord Zarkon's entire fleet. A silly story doesn't have the capability of scaring me."

"Mmm hmm." Lance agreed sarcastically. "Sure, and I'm not attracted to rugs."

"You're what?" Shiro raised an eyebrow.

"What? Like you're not." Lance huffed. "Jeez. Why are people always so discriminatory against my furnished sexuality. It's 87539 guys, come on."

"Um... 2017?" Hunk clarified.

"Whoa! Is your society really that young? Lord Voltron, you guys really are infants!"

"We are not infants!" Pidge scowled.

Lance began to laugh, and Shiro joined in. Unsure of what was happening, both Hunk and Keith let out nervous chuckles as well. Only Pidge stayed sane, still quite offended by the infant comment. It was already enough everyone laughed at her shortness, she didn't want to be called a baby as well!

The laughter was cut short however with a distant rustling of the trees. Hunk yelped, and ran back behind Shiro. Keith's eyes bugged, and forehead began to sweat. Pidge saw him sneakily inch back behind Lance. Oh, the tragedy of oblivious lovers, Pidge signed.

The rustling sound came one again. It was hard to make out with the dim fire light, but Pidge swore she spotted a tall, lean figure tucked away amongst the trees. She squinted her eyes behind her glasses, and focused. "Hello?" She asked. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" A male voice responded from the shadows. Pidge could only describe it as real deep, and hella sexy. It continued, stepping closer to the others. "Currently, I am lost, and in need of assistance if you will."

Pidge could finally see the figure clearly. He was a tall, lean man, with long blond hair tied into a ponytail, peachy skin, and mysteriously lean eyes. He wore tight jeans, and a buttoned up purple shirt, with a neatly folded collar. He also held a brown backpack over his shoulders, which didn't look very full.

The man could have been anywhere between eighteen to thirty, or even older. It was hard to say. He walked with this suave, feminine strut, and held his head up high, with this sort of unhinged confidence. He-looked-gorgeous. Pidge had to scold herself after staring at him for too long with her awestruck jaw agape. And, dang it, the sexy voice did nothing to help!

"Hello?" Shiro stood, Hunk still closely behind him. "What's your name?"

"Oh, my apologies. How impolite of me." The man smirked, shaking his beautiful head in shame. "The name is Lotor. Nice to meet you- um, what was your name?"

"Shiro." He answered. "And the one behind me is Hunk."

"I'm Pidge!" Pidge squeaked.

"I see. Then hello Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge." Pidge almost fainted as the Lotor pronounced her name. He then turned his attention to Lance and Keith, and made a surprised expression. "Oh, my! And who might these... fascinating looking fellows be?"

"Keith." Said Keith, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously. He stepped out from behind Lance, and furrowed his purple brows.

"Keith... hm. Quite a common name for such an uncommon looking creature." Lotor stepped towards the Galra Altean, and inspected his face curiously.

"He's uh..." Pidge dug around her head for a reasonable excuse. They didn't need word getting around about their new alien camp mates. "He's a furry!"

"I'm not that furry!" Keith frowned irritably.

Lotor smirked. "Ah, I see. No judgment here. And who is this handsome fellow next to you?"

"Handsome?" Lance smiled from ear to ear. "I like this guy already. The names Lance. Prince Lance of Altea." Pidge's shoulders stiffened. Oh quiznak... he wasn't supposed to say that. Lance continued confidently, completely oblivious to his mistake. "Yeah, I know. No need to get excited. I'm humbled, really."

"Prince? Oh, my, my." Lotor rubbed his chin, his velvety, narrow eyes glinting. "You are a funny one. The prince of, what was it again? Altea? Must be a lovely place. Where can I find it?"

Lance shrugged. Pidge could see Keith glaring daggers into Lotor. Apparently, he didn't like how this current conversation was steering. "Up there somewhere." Lance pointed up to the stars. "I'm not sure which... Maybe you can't even see it from here, I don't know."

Lotor followed Lance's finger up. His luscious blond locks shone in the moonlight. "Ah, among the stars I see. It must be so far from reach! However did you get all the way out here?"

"A blue cat robot." Lance answered bluntly. "And a wormhole, which I created with my own core."

Lotor chuckled. Gosh... even his laugh was sexy. Pidge just didn't know how such a gorgeous, elegant, divine, graceful, radiant, ravishing, refined person could even exist! Pidge only met this guy like, twenty seconds ago, and she was already obsessed! Even she felt as though she was thinking insanely. Still... there was just something about Lotor...

"You are cute, Prince Lance." Lotor smiled after his laughter died down. "A blue cat robot? How very fascinating. Oh! But that does remind me!"

Lotor dug into his backpack, and pulled out a golden hoop looking thing, with a triangle shaped blue gem on one end. Both Lance and Keith gasped. "My crown!" He exclaimed. "Y-you've found it!"

"So it is yours. I'm glad to have helped. I found it in the woods, and thought it much too pretty to be lying around in the dirt. I went looking for the owner, when I got lost." Lotor took the crown, and placed it over Lance's head. It slid down his hairline, and wrapped around his forehead. Lotor brushed away Lance's extra, messy white strands of hair, and adjusted the golden crown, so that the blue gem rested in the center. "There we go. Now you look like a proper prince."

Lance blushed, and touched the gleaming blue gem. It wasn't dirty at all! Pidge assumed it would be, since it had been sticking in the mud for so many days, but apparently not. Lotor must have cleaned it, Pidge assumed. Either that, or it had some strange Altean cleaning magic. (She seriously doubted the last option however).

"You've been away from your kingdom for so long..." Lotor frowned, looking into Lance's eyes. The human stood about a head above the Altean. Compared to the scrawny Lance, Lotor looked fairly athletic. Perhaps not as much as Shiro, or even Keith, but fit nevertheless. "Your eyes..." Lotor continued. "It longs for home."

Lance averted his gaze. "What the quiznak are you talking about?" He asked, suddenly irritated. "I don't- I'm not- who even are you anyways? What makes you think you can tell me how I feel?"

Lotor placed his hand beneath Lance's chin, and gently pulled his face up, returning the young Prince's gaze back onto him. Keith's fangs bared, and taloned claws flinched. Shiro and Hunk looked confused, and Pidge was currently having a flipping heart attack! Lance stared into Lotor's eyes, holding his breath in shock. "Your family..." Lotor continued in a whisper. "You miss them dearly. Father, sister, mother. You can't stop thinking of them."

"I- uh..." Lance muttered. His face looked ripe as a tomato, and he was perspiring immensely. But Pidge couldn't even blame him! If someone that beautiful got as close to her as Lotor was to Lance, she'd likely die on the spot.

Keith grabbed Lance's arm, and pulled the Altean prince away from the touchy human. "How did you know that?" He demanded. "He never once said anything about having a father, sister, or mother!"

"Oh my! I do apologize!" Lotor rubbed a hand along his neatly shaved chin. "You see, I have a nag for these sorts of things."

"A nag?" Keith narrowed his eyes at Lotor. "Yeah right. I don't believe in the supernatural. There is no way you could just 'know' someone's family, without actually having met them. Who are you really?"

Lotor's eyes widened. He then flashed a grin, with his perfect row of straight, white teeth. "Again, I am quite sorry to offend. I did not realize you two were with one another."

OMG! Pidge thought. Someone actually pointed it out! And not only that, but a complete stranger is the one who finally did it!

Keith quickly pushed Lance away, and scowled. "N-no! That's not it! I'm his bodyguard!"

"Mm, hmm." Lotor sounded unconvinced. "Bodyguard. Sure."

"Stop changing the subject!" Keith's purple face had turned completely red. Pidge wondered how that was even possible. "You somehow knew about Lance's family. How?"

"How?" Lotor chuckled. "How do I know anything? I simply do, that's how. And you, Keith. I know a lot about you as well. Perhaps even more than you yourself do."

"E-Excuse me?" Keith backed away.

Lotor took a step forward. "Oh, yes Keith. I know many things. Such as your family, history, personality, and especially..." Lotor leaned down to Keith's ear, and whispered so the others couldn't hear. "Your secret."

Keith pushed Lotor away, and put even more distance between him, and the touchy newcomer. "I know who you are." Keith muttered beneath his breath, then turned to Lance. "Your majesty, we need to go."

"Whoa! Aren't you a feisty one." Lotor smirked. "Go ahead. I won't bother you. I'm only looking for my way back."

Keith ran, grabbing the baffled Lance on his way. "Let's go back your majesty..." he whispered. "It's getting much too late."

"But- what's going on? Why do you want to leave all of a sudden?" Lance looked back at Lotor, who was giving him a wave, and the others, who looked just as confused as he likely felt.

Keith said something else which Pidge couldn't hear. And with that, the two were gone. She looked back at Lotor, eyes wide. Who was this guy, really?


	8. Because I Don't Deserve It

Keith gripped Lance's hand tightly the whole way back to the cabin. Lance couldn't get him to answer any of his numerous questions. Things such as: "why are you so upset?" And "Don't tell me you actually got scared at Pidge's story."

When they finally got back, Keith let go of Lance's hand, and closing the cabin's door behind him, locking it for extra measure. Keith then went to each window, closing the shades and making sure they were bolted down properly. All the while Lance watched him curiously. "What are you doing? Wanna be alone with me that badly?"

Once Keith made sure every inch of the cabin was fastened shut, he plopped down on the couch with a sigh. "We're safe... for now." He muttered more to himself than anyone else.

"Safe?" Lance chuckled. "Woah! Are you serious right now? You are terrified of the ghost of 1985, aren't you! Oh, so cute and innocent. Don't be scared Keith. It's ok! This isn't even the dead girls cabin. At least... I don't think it is."

Keith looked at him, annoyed. Lance jokingly coward over in fear. "Or maybe it is! You never know... Actually, now that I think about it, I've been hearing some weird sounds during the night time. You don't think... no way! It couldn't be... The ghost of 1985!" Lance wiggled his fingers in the air spookily. "Oh no! It may already be too late! I think she's already targeting us!"

"Stop joking around!" Keith demanded, through clenched teeth.

"It's not a joke!" Lance smirked. "I seriously think she's here now. Hiding in the shadows... watching our every moves now! Oh no! Save me Keith! I think she wants to eat me for ghost supper!"

Lance ran to Keith, and took a seat next to him on the couch. He grabbed the Altean Galra's arm, and pretended to shiver. "Oh no... I think I see her now. Over there in the corner! She's eyeing me with her glowing white irises!"

Keith pulled Lance's arm from its grasp around Keith, and leaned away. His ears were flopped down, his glowing yellow eyes narrowed, nose scrunched, and mouth in a frown. "I told you to stop Lance." He scolded. "I'm sick of you always harassing me."

Lance eyes widened. "H-harass? It wasn't my attention to... that's not what I... I was only teasing!"

"I know you were. It's... it's fine, just get some sleep." Keith looked away. Lance could see the sadness and hurt in his eyes. Lance hated that look. It didn't suit Keith at all.

"Is there..." Lance muttered, unsure of how to make things right again. "Is there anything you need? Like... want me to grab you a snack, or..."

Keith shook his head. "Get some sleep." He repeated, not once looking in Lance's direction. "I told you, it's fine."

Lance paused for a tick, then nodded. "Ok then... I'll go get my pajamas on." Lance walked to the bathroom door. Before he went in, he turned back around, and added, "And, I'm sorry... about teasing you and stuff..."

Keith looked back up, but Lance had already vanished into the bathroom. Lance went to the sink, and stared at himself in the mirror. Wow! He didn't recognize himself at all... Though he had his newly recovered crown still on, Lance didn't look anything like a prince. His hair was an absolute mess, face tired and muddied, and clothes tattered and baggy. The only thing that reminded him of his old life back on Altea was his sharp pointy ears and blue markings below his eyes. If only Lance had the power to shape shifting them away... Then Lance could easily pass as a full human, and live his days here on Earth. It was such a great place, and with so much to explore. It would take a lifetime to discover it all!

Lance removed his crown, and splashed his face with some of the cold sink water. After brushing his teeth, attempting to comb his hair, and cleansing his face with this weird face cream Hunk had gifted him, he exited the bathroom to grab his pj's.

On the way over however, he spotted Keith still seated on the couch. Curiosity rose in his mind, and Lance simply had to see what he was doing. Keith looked to be staring down at something in his hand.

Lance tiptoed sneakily behind Keith, and leaned over his shoulder to see what exactly he was holding. It was some sort of weapon. A gray dagger of various shades, with an odd purple, glowing design running from the handle down the blades surface. It was like no Altean weapon Lance had ever seen before. Perhaps it wasn't. If anything, the knife looked like something a Galra would wield. But if so... why would Keith have it?

Lance leaned in close to Keith's ear, and placed both his hands on the other boy's shoulder. "What you got there?"

Keith yelped, jumping from his seat, and slashed the dagger in Lance's direction. He was nearly hit, but Lance quickly shuffled back before the weapon could harm him. Keith drew back, eyes widened in utter terror. "L-lance... it... it was you!"

"In the flesh, baby!" Lance smirked, still frazzled about nearly being slashed.

"What the quiznak?!" Keith spouted, tossing the dagger onto the coffee table. He ran to Lance, and grabbed his shoulders, inspecting him for any injuries. "Why the Voltron did you sneak up on me like that? I could've killed you!"

"Yeah, but you didn't." Lance removed Keith's hands from his shoulders. "I'm fine, but what are you doing? Shouldn't you be getting sleep too?"

Since the cabin only had one bedroom, the last few days Keith took the couch to sleep on. Lance insisted they switch, but Keith told him it was not right for a prince to have an improper place of rest. If only he knew about Lance's love for sleep outside on the soft grass, hearing the sounds of nature all around him.

Lance walked to the end of the sofa, and took the pillow, fluffing it. He smiled brightly, placing the pillow back down, patting it, and prompting Keith to lie down. Keith narrows his eyes at him, then with only a tick more of hesitation, walked over and laid down. His mouth was still in a frown making him look like a sad, purple puppy. Lance looked into Keith's eyes, and grinned. The Galra Altean looked so cute! He suddenly had the urge to pat Keith's messy purple hair.

Lance grabbed the blanket from the other end of the couch, and pulled it over Keith. "There you go innocent one." Lance cooed, tucking the sides of the blanket under Keith, wrapping him in a little burrito (an Earth delicacy that Lance had the joy of discovering).

"Innocent one?" Keith scoffed. "Why do you keep calling me that? I left home to fight in an intergalactic war when I was only a child. I think I'm anything but innocent."

"Sweet, innocent, naive, little Altean Galra child. Shush now, and rest your cute little head."

"Child?" Keith growled. "I'm older than you!"

Lance placed a finger on Keith's lips, and made a shushing gesture. "Oh, children nowadays. Such big imaginations! But there's no time for games now. Children need to sleep at this hour, so they may grow up big and healthy."

"You're the one playing the game, Lance." Keith wiggled his arms out of the blanket burrito, and placed them on top of his stomach. "You're not as funny as you think you are."

Lance's eyes sparkled. "Not as funny? Does that mean I'm still a little funny then? Wow! I'm honored."

Keith groaned, and shut his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Whatever feeds your ego."

Lance's eyes sparkled even brighter. "You're helping me feed my ego? I'm so honored! You must really like me, since you want me to feel better about myself."

Keith's eyes opened irritably. "Shouldn't you be getting to bed?"

"Well, do you need something first? Like a bedtime snack?" Lance suggested. "They don't have any good Altean food, but hey. Those marshmallows are pretty alright."

"I'm fine..."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Are you suuuurrrrrreeeee about that?"

Keith paused. "... Crackers please" he mumbled angrily.

Lance's grin reached from ear to ear. "Coming right up your Keithiness."

Lance raced to the kitchen, and opened the cabinet. He wasn't sure why Keith liked these dry, salty brown disks known as crackers, but hey, all for themselves.

Lance, crackers in hand, walked back into the main room. He bent down next to Keith. "Say aww!" Lance took the first cracker, and pretended to fly it around like a spaceship. When Lance attempted to aim the snack into Keith's mouth, Keith grabbed Lance's wrist, stopping the Prince in his tracks.

"I can do it myself." Keith stated bluntly.

"Aww..." Lance was disappointed, but handed the box of crackers to Keith despite.

Keith took an entire pack of thirteen, and swallowed them all in one gulp. "I'm good now... thank you, and good night."

"Oh, alright." Lance frowned. "But you're feeling bad today. Shouldn't you be the one to sleep on the bed?"

"I'm merely a bodyguard." Keith reminded. "You are a prince. It's not right for me to have the greater luxury."

"But... we're on Earth, so that doesn't matter!" Lance protested. "Besides, they don't even have a king or queen here. Instead they have something called a... president? I don't know. Sounds dumb, but that means we don't have to worry about social classes any longer. We can be... I don't know. Equal."

"Equal?" Keith scoffed. "Yeah right."

Lance's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean yeah right?"

"It's nothing..."

"Are you making fun of equality?" Lance's eyes widened. He hadn't expected someone with Keith's... appearance, to roll their eyes at such a thing. "But, isn't that what you want? For you to have the same rights as the other Alteans?"

"Well... yes."

"Then why is it so hard to accept? Here, no one is above anyone else. We all have the same rights, and privileges, no matter our... our, um... background."

"Is that what Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk told you?" Keith asked, unconvinced.

"Yes..."

"Well, hate to break it to you Lance, but they're wrong. There is nowhere in the galaxy where everyone is completely equal. It's just the way it is. No need to get worked up about it, since there is nothing we, or anyone else can do." Keith explained.

What was he even saying! This conversation turned south quickly, and Lance didn't like where it was heading. How could Keith say such a thing? No equality anywhere in the galaxy? That had to be false... Maybe not on this planet, but somewhere else surly! Lance balled his fists, and scrunched his nose. "Well, I hate to break it to you too Keith, but I'm not the wrong one here. It's you. I can't believe you actually think that nowhere in the ever expanding reaches of space, that not one society has equal opportunities for all. That's... that can't be true..."

Keith sat up, pushing the blanket from atop his body. Lance didn't like the angered expression on his face. "It is true!" He argued. Lance could see he was doing his absolute best to keep all his bottled up words inside. "It's natural instinct. One creature always fights for the top, pushing down the rest. And they make stupid excuses to keep that position on top. Like how the other creatures are lesser, sick, or insignificant. Then, overtime, people begin believing them. Because that's how they grew up, and how they were taught. It's not anyone's fault... there's only nature to blame for beginning the inevitable chain of events. The chain of events, that always end in destruction. Because, face it. When the lesser begins to revolt, war always follows. War, after war, after war, until there's nothing left to kill. Until everyone, and everything is washed away, only to begin the cycle once more."

"Cycle? Keith, are you even hearing yourself right now? Why are you saying such terrible things?!"

"Reality is terrible!" Keith tore his eyes away from Lance. "I'm only stating facts, nothing more. No need to get so angered by it..."

"It's only a bed! W-why are you getting so defensive about it? Is it really that difficult for you to accept a friendly gesture?" Lance gritted his teeth. "Do you really have such poor self esteem, that you toss away any inkling of kindness? Enough with this inequality is nature bull crap. You are no lesser to me in my eyes, and that's all that matters. No one's here to judge you based on your looks any longer. Altea is light years away, so you're finally free."

"Maybe I don't want to be free!"

"Why the hell wouldn't you want to be free?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T DESERVE IT!" Keith yelled, shaking the cabin with his harsh words. Lance fell silent, backing away, eyes bugged in shock. "Because I don't deserve it, Lance." He repeated, taking in a deep breath in attempt to calm himself down. "Because if you truly knew who I was... never mind."

"I do know who you are!"

"No you don't, Lance."

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't!" Keith's nails dug into the cushion, his face growing increasingly redder. "I- I... you just don't, ok... No one does, and no one should... because, if they knew... I would be even more shameful than I already am."

Lance paused. Shameful? Lance couldn't believe his ears. Keith was not shameful! And whoever believed that was terribly wrong. Keith was the smartest, most intelligent creature Lance ever had the honor of meeting. And for him to describe himself as shameful! Lance couldn't bare it. He wanted to grab Keith by the shoulders, and smack some sense across his gorgeous, purple, hybrid face.

"You are anything but shameful, Keith. You... you are the only person I've ever actually cared about in all my years at The Castle of Lions. Not to mention the smartest person I've yet to meet. You're funny, strong, brave, handsome, basically the whole package. So, stop looking down on yourself. Everything you are saying about how you 'do not deserve it', just push it aside."

"Honestly, Lance!" Keith yelled, standing up from the couch. He reached to the odd designed knife that he was inspecting previously, and held it out for Lance to see. "You see this, Lance? This is Galran. One which only the elite soldiers under Zarkon possess."

"W-what are you saying?" Lance stuttered. He didn't like the mention of the evil alien dictator, Lord Zarkon.

"It means that I received it, because I was an elite Galra soldier."

Lance's heart sank to his shoes. The world around him began to spin, and black spots appeared in the corner of his vision. "I d-don't understand... Keith... you're not... I... you fought for the Galra?"

"No, I-" Keith stuttered, tossing the knife back down on the table. "I was in the Altean army, but..."

"But?"

"But... Zarkon, he... he attempted to sway me to his side..."

"Well... You weren't swayed though! So, it's all ok... right?" Lance's legs were shaking in his shoes. This was too much to handle. When did things get so awful, so quickly.

"It's..." Keith sat back down, and held his focus on the floor. "It's not alright... My mother... She died because of him. She was slaughtered before my very eyes, with the same hands that once held this very dagger."

Lance saw Keith's eyes beginning to water. Lance gasped, and ran to his side. He placed his hands around Keith's and they both locked eyes. A tear rolled down Keith's cheek, which he didn't bother to wipe away. "Me and my mom..." He continued. "We were always alone. My dad... He never loved my mother... he... he forcefully took my mom, which resulted in well... me. Then he vanished... Of course he did. Bastards like him always do."

Keith inhaled. His breath was shaky, and his face was now a soggy mess of tears. All Lance could do was watch, and listen as Keith struggled to finish his story. "For so long... I never knew who he was. Mother refused to answer when I asked, and I just assumed he died. But no... he was all too alive. And one day, after coming back home from a varga of hunting, there he was. In our house, standing in the middle of the room, next to my dead, dangling mother's body, hung to the ceiling by an invisible string. All this... and I was only a kid." He paused. "Only a kid..."

Keith collapsed into a mess of sobs. Lance acted fast, and flung his arms around Keith, pulling him in for a hug. His eyes began to water as well, and a short time later, they were both bawling their eyes out. Keith took his hands, and wrapped than around Lance's back. They come closer, and closer, until they were practically suffocating each other.

Lance finally understood. Why Keith insisted on keeping his natural form. Why he looked down upon himself. Why he insisted Lance be elevated above him. Lord Zarkon. He had killed his mother. No, not only that. Zarkon forced Keith into this world, and took the life of the only thing precious to him. Keith wasn't only a Galra Altean hybrid. Keith was Lord Zarkon's son.

When the cries died down enough for Lance to speak, he said the only thing he thought could comfort Keith. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so, sorry... I didn't know..."

Lance dug his nails into Keith's back. The two were so close, their tear covered cheeks were touching. Lance could feel Keith's hair rub up against his skin, and tickle his nose. "Why am I even telling you all this?" Keith whispered to himself, finally regaining a normal tone of voice. "You don't even want me here..."

"I do want you!" Lance's face became tomato red. "Here! I want you here, I mean. You aren't my bodyguard, you're my friend."

Keith finally pushed Lance away. He wiped away the last of his tears, and fell silent. Lance continued. "I wish things were different. I wish your mother never died, I wish Zarkon was never alive, I wish you didn't have to deal with the crap you have to deal with. I wish... I wish we met before all this. You know, became friends, be there for one another. If only... If only I was there for you, this all wouldn't have happened! I would have guarded her with my life. I would have tackled Zarkon, ripping his damn head off with my bare hands. But... I couldn't."

"It's not your fault!" Keith protested. "You couldn't have stopped Lord Zarkon, no one could!"

"I know it may sound well, fantastical. But I'm a dreamer. I believe if you want something enough, then you can work and achieve anything. But, since I never knew you, I couldn't have helped you... But that's all in the past. The present is the present, and there is nothing we can do about it... We can only be thankful for life we still have."

"... Sometimes simply holding onto life isn't enough to keep on living." Keith mumbled.

Lance wrapped his arms back around Keith. The Altean Galra instantly fell silent, as Lance whispered in his ear. "Keith... your father... he wasn't your true father. He helped create you, but he doesn't define you. Lord Zarkon is a wrathful, evil mastermind. Everyone agrees. But his son? His son turned out to be nothing like him. Smart, kind, courageous. He was wonderful. And all because he was an individual, not defined by his past or his outside appearance."

Keith was completely still. Lance hugged tighter, and held Keith in his arms for a tick more. They then separated, teary eyes locking. Lance leaned in, and kissed Keith on the forehead. "You should get some sleep." He instructed, flashing Keith a big, goofy grin.

"Uh huh..." He murmured in response, touching the place on his forehead Lance had kissed. His expression was completely awestruck.

Lance stood, and gave Keith one last look before heading back towards the bedroom. "Goodnight." He called right before he exited. "Don't worry too much, and just get some rest. I'll be in here if... you, know... need me for anything."

Keith gave a microscopic nod, and watched as the Altean prince vanished from his sight.


	9. We're Lost, And Drenched

Horses are fun. Especially riding one around a track, attempting to surpass a competitor. "I'm catching up!" Lance called after Pidge, an edge of confidence present in his words.

Pidge twisted her head back, her round glasses reflecting the light of the setting sun. The tall, black stallion she was riding kicking up a cloud of dirt as it bolted across the gravel path. "In your dreams, rookie!" Pidge taunted, sticking out a tongue, and flashing an evil grin.

Lance smirked and narrowed his eyes. He held tightly to the reins of his brown, spotted stallion, and sped forward. Shiro, Hunk, and Keith waited at the up ahead finish line. They watched as Lance attempted to pass Pidge's horse to the right, alas being blocked by the rear of the dark mare's behind before he could reach the finish line. Pidge pumped her fist up victoriously as her horse halted to a stop, baring it's nostrils complacently.

Lance steadied his horse, and gave Pidge a frown. A week of practice, and he still couldn't beat her. Pidge must have been some sort of ultra rider, Lance swore.

It had been about three weeks since Lance and Keith first landed on Earth. By now them, Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge were inseparable friends. They went everywhere together, raced together, ate together. Like a pack of wild Yelmores linked at the ears. But Lance and Keith were arguably the closest of them all.

Though they had only known each other for three weeks and four quintents, they acted as though they've known each other for a lifetime. Keith no longer addressed Lance with names such as 'your majesty' or 'prince'. They finally acted as genuine friends, and not servant and master. Perhaps even more than friends. Ever since Keith spilled his backstory, and revealed his most held secret, Lance found himself thinking of the Altean Galra quite a lot. What it must have been like. How he would react in Keith's situation. Lance thought about other things too. Curious things, such as the boy's features, his laugh, his smile. Everything that sent Lance's stomach aflutter.

Lance galloped up to Keith, and held out a hand. "A ride, your Keithiness?" He smirked, as Keith took his hand and pulled himself up behind the Prince, onto the saddle.

"Where are you planning on going?" Keith asked, wrapping his arms around Lance's stomach. Lance could feel Keith's breath brush against the back of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine. Every time Keith got remotely close to Lance, he felt his heart pound hard against his chest, and began to see black specks in the corners of his vision.

Lance craned his neck to look a Keith, flashing him a dorky smile. "No clue. Wherever the wind takes me, I suppose."

Pidge chortled behind her palm. "Don't have too much fun you two."

"We'll be back soon." Keith assured.

"But I wouldn't count on it." Lance corrected. "See y'all later!" He grabbed hold of the reins, and urged his horse forward. In a flash, the Altean duo were galloping down the track, and leaping over the fence.

The rush was amazing. A cold breeze sent Lance's white, tangled hair flowing, as well as Keith's long purple bangs. Keith hadn't cut his hair in quite awhile, so his mullet now reached down to his shoulders. Sometimes he held it up in a pony tale, and other times he let it fall freely. Though Lance was skeptical at first, he found himself loving Keith's new look. Especially when he was allowed to brush it, and pull it up in a bun (which was rarely). A guilty pleasure he indulged in as a child with Allura's, his mother's, and his father's hair before... well, before the war. It brought back many great memories, which made Lance's insides churn. Of course he wasn't homesick, but... thinking of his old life just made him feel... odd. He much preferred thinking of his new life here on Earth, with his human friends, and Keith. Especially Keith.

As they sped up, Keith squeezes his arms tighter around Lance's waist. At a time like this, Lance was happy Keith couldn't see his flushed face. He had to admit though, he liked the contact. Lance didn't ever want Keith to let go.

Lance and Keith raced down a dirt path, passing tall oak trees, and low hanging branches and vines. At some points, they had to duck to prevent from being smacked in the face by some sort of shrubbery. The horse they were riding seemed to know where it was going, as well as unconcerned with its riders safety. It leaped over boulders and ducked under fallen trees. The two Alteans had absolutely no idea where they were heading, though neither one seemed to care. They enjoyed being near each other, and watching the environment around them change before their very eyes.

One moment they're passing a field of rolling grasses and tall purple flowers, and the next they're rushing beneath a waterfall. Before they knew it, the both of them had traveled so far the sun was already setting over the horizon. Lance and Keith jumped off their horse, and flopped lazily down in the dirt. Their little journey had led them to a grassy clearing, surrounded on either side by colossal size trees. Lance placed his hand in Keith's palm, and they both burst out laughing. "Where the quiznak are we?" Keith chuckled.

"I don't know, but it sure is beautiful, isn't it?" Lance tilted his head to face Keith.

"I don't know about that." Keith responded. "It's just a patch of grass, and a bunch of trees."

"Exactly! That's the exact thing that makes this place so wonderful. Imagine, these trees can reach hundreds, no, thousands of years old! It's like looking into a window of history. And this clearing! Why is it here? Why hasn't the forest taken ahold of it yet? It's one of life's many strange, unexplainable mysteries. This planet... the Earth has many of those, don't you think? That's what makes this place so wonderful! Everything constantly evolving, yet we still have natural things such as the trees to look back upon. Everything completely unique, nothing completely unchanging."

"When I first met you, I never guessed you the poetic  type." Keith smirked, squeezing Lance's hand in his own.

"I can be when I want to be." Lance shrugged. "But only in front of the right people."

Lance let out a big yawn, and a cough. Wow, for a supposed hot season, it was really cold. He itched his nose, and let out a sneeze. Keith gave him a worried glance as Lance's eyes fell shut. Dang... he didn't feel good at all.

Keith propped himself up on his forearms, and looked Lance up and down, inspected his condition. Keith's glowing yellow eyes illuminated in the darkness, bringing all attention to him, and his sharp, beautiful features. The sun had completely vanished from view.

Keith brushed aside Lance's white strands of hair, and placed a palm on Lance's forehead. "You're burning up. What's wrong with you?" He asked, taking his hand back.

Lance's eyes fluttered open. His tender expression met Keith's, giving the hybrid a goofy smirk. "Wha? Could it be? Have I passed already? Who is this above me? An angel?"

Keith coughed, and averted his stare. "No, you haven't died yet. And you better not anytime soon, because if you do, I'll have to follow you into the afterlife and re-kill you myself."

"Whoa... violent. But I'm glad to hear you like me well enough to follow me into the afterlife."

"You wish." Keith rolled his eyes, punching Lance softly in the arm. He laid back down, and extended his limbs across the brownish-green grass. "If Allura ever found you dead, she would force me down under before I could even manage to take my own life..."

Lance and Keith went silent. It had been a good long while since they heard that name. Allura... Keith had gotten out of the habit of mentioning Lance's family, or Altea in general after that night which he confessed his origins. This made Lance more than relieved. Overjoyed even. He felt as though maybe Keith finally learned to love this place as Lance did. But, apparently not...

The cold night air swept Lance's bangs. Though he normally welcomed silence, tonight's sounds of cricket chirps, and distant howling made Lance feel lost more than anything. Not in the physical sense, but more so his thoughts. The same odd itch which had been plaguing in the back of Lance's mind for a long while now.

Keith was the first to finally speak up. "Hey... Lance?" He asked in a whisper.

Lance turned towards Keith, brushing his brown cheek against the grass. "Mm, hm?" He muttered, attempting to make out Keith's features in the darkness.

"When do you..." A pause. "When do you think they will come?"

"My father and sister?" Lance clarified. "Um... I'm not sure. Maybe never, I don't know..."

"Never, huh?" Keith squinted up at the stars. He looked really upset. Perhaps the unfavorable fact was just now setting in. Lance's family, nor anybody else was going to find them. And the lions, still unresponsive in that cave, were never going to activate again. Perhaps they simply traveled much too far from the other lions? Was even Voltron thwarted by distance? Didn't seem likely, but it was the only reasonable conclusion Lance could draw.

"Yeah, never..." Lance repeated. "But, you know... Maybe that's not such a bad thing..."

"How?" Keith frowned, glaring at Lance through the corner of his eye.

"How? Well... This place isn't so bad, right? I mean... We have shelter, food, friends. Plus there is so much to do and see. It would take a lifetime to view it all."

"The summer's ending..." Keith mumbled in response. "Shiro told me... Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro will have to go back to school soon, and we'll have to leave the cabin, because it isn't ours. It actually belongs to a guy named Slav... I don't know how we'll survive without the shelter... We won't have money, or Earth education, or any way of getting food. The three of them can't help us forever... After this summer, we're alone."

"How about getting a job then?"

Keith widened his eyes, and turned to Lance. "Huh? Are you serious?"

"Yeah!" Lance grinned. "That's how people get groggeries - I mean, uh, money nowadays, right? It can't be too hard to find a simple job... And we can, like, buy our own food, and stuff. Get a traveling car vehicle, explore on our off time... Well, I mean... If you want that is... "

Keith nodded, and Lance continued. "We can even buy a house of our own... I mean, we don't have to share the same house, or anything. It's not like you're obliged to keep following me around... But, you know... If you want to live in the same home... I'm not stopping you or anything..." Lance's smile vanished. He looked to Keith for a reaction. Their eyes met, and Lance froze. His heart flipped, and beat in rapid concession.

Silence overtook the two once more. The only sounds came from the pulsing in Lance's chest, and the distant whispers of the forest. Keith paused, then nodded. Was that a yes? It didn't seem that way... Lance and Keith's eyes parted, as they gazed back up.

Quite a while later, Lance was fed up. The once happy atmosphere had turned grim so quick... That needed to change at any cost necessary. Lance sat up, and adjusted his vision to the darkness. A few feet from them, he saw a stream. It was slender, and shallow. It only rose to about Lance's waist. Not nearly deep enough to swim, but perhaps they would have better luck further down.

Lance stood, and took his shirt off. "Whoa!" Keith quickly shielded his eyes. "What in Voltron are you doing?"

"What?" Lance shrugged, tossing Hunk's old shirt aside. His human buddy wouldn't mind if his clothes got a little dirty in the mud... right? Lance unbuckled his belt, and pulled down his jeans, leaving him only with boxers. "I'm going to take a swim. You wanna join?"

Lance saw Keith's purple skin grow flush behind his hand. He sat up, and looked away, still covering his eyes. "At this time at night? Are you crazy?"

"Maybe." Lance answered honestly. "Come on, join me! I know you're crazy too, so let's just live it up!"

"But, I don't have a swimsuit!" He protested.

"Me neither. But who needs one? Just go nude."

"WHAT!?!" Keith gasped, finally removing his hand from his face.

"Whoa! Chill! I'm only kidding." Lance burst out laughing as he pulled his shoes and socks off. "I'm going in with my boxers. It won't hurt them if they get a little wet, right?"

"Oh... um..." Keith eyed Lance's blue underwear, then wandered upward to his bare chest. "I guess..."

"Are you joining me then?" Lance's grin reached from ear to ear.

"Um... sure..." Keith's eyes snapped back down to his shoes. Lance waited a few ticks. Keith looked back up at him, and frowned. "Can you... look away please?"

"What?!" Lance looked offended, but obliged. He rolled his eyes as he twisted his body away. "All right, your Keithiness. Didn't know you were so insecure about this stuff."

"I'm not insecure." Keith huffed, pulling off his shirt.

Once finished, Lance turned back around and smiled. He eyed Keith up and down. "See. That wasn't so bad."

Keith looked as though he wanted to vanish. "Yeah... Sure..."

Lance nodded, then ran to Keith, taking the hybrid's hand in his own. Lance pulled Keith forward, and the two began running across the grass. They rushed beside the stream, until Lance found a deep enough spot they could jump into. Lance let go of Keith, and held his breath. He jumped in, creating a large splash, which sprinkled water down on Keith's legs. He then raised to the surface, and waved a hand, prompting Keith to follow.

Keith hesitated for only a tick, then backed up and took a running start. He flung himself in the air, and plunged next to Lance in the water. He swam back up to the surface, shivering. His damp hair was clinging to his forehead, and his purple skin almost looked blue. "It's cold..." He complained through jittery teeth.

"No kidding." Lance agreed, attempting to keep warm by rubbing his hands across his arms. "It's night after all..." Lance put on a malicious grin. "Race you."

Before Keith had the chance to process Lance's words, the Altean Prince was off. He did a freestyle through the water, and Keith followed. It was difficult to navigate in the inky blue stream, especially at this time of night, but Alteans generally had extremely good vision, so it didn't hinder them too badly.

In the corner of his eye, Lance spotted something shiny and silver. It maneuvered through the water like a ribbon in the wind. A fish! Lance didn't know fish could be in rivers too!

Keith swam up next to Lance. Lance looked at him, then pointed to the gliding, silver fish. Keith smiled, and nodded, then began swimming toward it. Lance wondered what he was planning on doing when Keith readied his claws, catching the fish barehanded. He looked back at Lance, and smirked proudly. Lance giggled, sending air bubbles floating up, all around him.

The two boys rose to the surface, and burst out laughing. "You've caught a fush!" Lance exclaimed.

"Fiiiiiiish." Keith corrected, a tear of laughter rolling down his purple cheek.

"Yeah, fush. Whatever." Lance dove back in the water, then came back up again. "Follow me!" He called to Keith, and they both continued down the stream.

Keith let go of the poor fish, and it swam away quickly. Lance and Keith raced down the river side by side. Neither one of them seemed to be able to out-swim the other. When one sped up, the other simply worked ten times harder to catch up. Before they knew it, they had traveled so far, their starting point wasn't visible any longer. Lance thought back to the horse they had left. Was it going to be alright? Hopefully. It seemed to know it's way around the woods, and was most likely already racing back to the stables. If only the two of them knew how to get back. Though, Lance wasn't as concerned with that as perhaps he should have been. He liked being alone with Keith, having fun in the water. Especially the two of them being shirtless part, but he wouldn't admit that.

A great rumbling came from up ahead. Lance raised to the surface, and squinted in the direction of the noise. In the distance he saw a large cloud of water vapor rise. His eyes widened, and he shouted out. "Waterfall! Let's get out of here!"

Lance and Keith dashed to the shore. Their breaths were heavy as they looked to one another, then to the mass of steam. Lance's brain lit up with an idea. He grabbed Keith's hand and raced down the river bed to the waterfall's drop off. "Where do you think your going?" Keith asked as he trailed behind the enthusiastic Lance.

They got to the edge of the cliff, and looked down at the lake below. It was far down... like, really far down... The noise of the water falling and crashing down upon the earth was loud, to say the least. Lance could barely hear his own voice. "Yo, Keith!" He yelled. "Dare me to jump?"

"What?!" Keith screamed over the noise.

"I said, DARE ME TO JUMP?"

"I heard you! Are you insane?" Keith responded, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I repeat: maybe." Lance smirked. He grabbed Keith's hands in his, and squeezed. "Let's go together!"

"What?!"

"I said, LET'S GO TOGETHER!"

"I heard you! And, no. What the heck?! What do you take me for? Suicidal?"

"Oh, come on! There's at least a 90... 70 percent chance we won't die." Lance assured. "Live a little, Keith! Don't be such a chicken. Pidge taught me that metaphor. It's a type of Earth animal, which for some reason is paired with pussies. What you say Keith?"

"I say that you pulled those statistics from your ass. That's a metaphor too, for your butt, but I'm sure you already heard of it, Earth know it all."

"I think I heard a yes in there somewhere."

Keith sighed, and shook his head. "This is insane..." He mumbled, tightening his grip on Lance's hand. "But, what the heck." He pulled Lance and himself foreword, and they both jumped.

They clung to one another as they free fell through the air. The wind sent their hair flying behind them, and dried their damp skin. It was all for not however, as they crashed into the lake with a enormous splash.

The two boys were sent far beneath the water. Hitting the surface hurt like hell, no surprise, but luckily no sharp rocks were there to greet them at the bottom. Lance and Keith finally freed their hands from one another, and swam up to the surface. When he finally got up, Lance gasped, and spit a mouthful of dirty lake water from his mouth. His breathing was heavy, and his entire body felt as though it was going to fall apart at any moment. He paddled over to the shore, Keith following closely behind him. They then crawled onto the shore, and collapsed. Lance's lungs were working overtime, and he couldn't tell whether it was sweat, or lake water dripping into his eyes.

"That was... AWESOME!" Lance weakly pumped a fist into the air, and chuckled. "Whoa! You did it!"

Keith took a deep breath, and pulled his arms over his head. "I did it!" He repeated.

Lance hopped up and grinned from ear to ear. "WE DID IT!" He exclaimed cheerfully, his shouting surpassing the roaring sounds of the waterfall.

Lance picked up Keith by the armpits, and spun him around in a circle. It was pretty difficult, as Keith was about double his mass. But hey, what good Prince couldn't carry a person double their size? Keith gasped, not expecting the sudden movement. Lance laughed, and continued spinning, until they both got dizzy. "Whoa!" Keith chuckled. "Ok, ok. I get it. You can stop spinning me now before I get motion sickness, and vomit all over you."

"We can just clean it in the lake!"

"Eww! Gross, Lance." Keith snorted.

Lance's arms finally gave up. He dropped Keith, sending the Altean Galra falling. He landed atop Lance, leg to leg, chest to chest. Their faces were so close, Lance could feel Keith's breath against his skin. "Whoops." Lance blushed. "I dropped you, sorry."

"Don't worry. You broke my fall." Keith smiled.

Lance nodded. His gaze met Keith's, and he found himself getting lost in his eyes, like Lance so often did. But... why were they so close? And why wasn't Keith moving? Keith was practically crushing him under his body, yet Lance didn't seem to be mad about it.

The two boys grew silent. The sounds of the surging water overtook once more. But all Lance could focus on was the face above him, the pounding of his heart, and the feeling of Keith's skin against his own. Though he was part Galra, Keith's skin was soft, and a smidgen cold due to the water. Who knew a Galra descendent could feel this damn good, let alone Lord Zarkon's offspring.

It was the best sensation Lance had ever felt. It had been so long since Lance hugged, or even accepted affection from someone he loved. His mother used to hug and kiss him, a long as his father, and sister, but that was a long time ago. Besides, this didn't feel like those times. The sensation he felt wasn't the sort of feeling one gets towards family. It was... like something Lance had never before experienced. As though Lance wanted to get even closer, to feel what Keith felt, hear what he heard, and taste what he tasted. To be not two, but one independent being. 

Lance put his hand behind Keith's head, and gently pulled his face nearer to his own. Slowly the two boys inched closer and closer. Lance's breath suddenly got heavier, and he began to sweat tensely. What was he doing? And why wasn't Keith stopping? Lance's eyes fell shut, as he awaited Keith's lips to touch his. But they never did. Keith pulled away, and swiftly stood back up, leaving Lance laying in the grass. Lance opened his eyes, and sat up. "What the hell dude?" He frowned, white eyebrows furrowing, face red with embarrassment.

"I- I can't do this..." Keith stuttered, taking a step away. He paused when his feet touched the water.

"... Why not?" Lance clenched his fists. He wanted to disappear.

"Why not?" Keith held a hand to his forehead. "B-because, what they hell? T-this is wrong... like... crazy... What are we even doing out here? It's insane! We're lost, and drenched, and likely sick after taking a swim in freezing cold water. And you're Lance, and I'm Keith, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Lance stood. "Slow down. Why can't you kiss me again? Is it because I'm a boy?"

"No! I-" Keith paused, likely juggling the scattered thoughts in his head. "It's just that... you're you, and I'm me. A Prince and a... it's just not right..."

"And what the quiznak is wrong with that? I thought we got past this idiotic prejudice. I was a Prince, I get it. And you were my servant, sure. But we are on Earth, remember? I don't see any kingdom for me to rule, or any royalty for you to serve."

"No! No..." Keith grabbed Lance's shoulders, and shook him. "Don't you get it, Lance? Your dad is King Alfor. My dad is Lord Zarkon. Lord Zarkon, the notorious, treacherous overlord of the biggest intergalactic war in this universe's history. The offsprings of the two leading heads of rivaling sides!"

"So?"

"So, this is not right! I'm a Galra. You're Altean. We can't... we can't do stuff like that." Keith explained, strain in his voice. He seemed to be getting increasingly more discombobulated as he stumbled on his own words.

"You're half Galra." Lance protested. "Plus, that fact shouldn't matter. All I was doing was trying to kiss you, not propose. Relax..." He paused, taking a shaky breath in. Lance's dark, damp skin suddenly felt the isolating cold air circulating around him. "I thought you liked me too... I guess not... Fine. I'm fine. L-let's just go, and forget this ever happened. You can ditch me later when your precious King Alfor, or Queen Allura comes to pick you up."

"No, Lance... I-" Keith put his hands on both Lance's cheeks. "It's not as though I don't like you... I do, but..."

"But you're scared." Lance suggested.

"No... I'm not scared. It's just- It's just not..."

"What? Not, what?" Lance lined his jaw, only wanting to be done with this conversation. He'd already embarrassed himself enough as is, and he was tired of all the excuses. If Keith didn't like him, that was fine. But he was being a douche by lying about it. "You are scared." He continued, looking Keith directly in the eyes. "Scared about not knowing your place in society. Scared about straying away from the broken class system, and going against what you've been taught your entire life. Scared about being on the same level as a bratty Altean Prince like me, and scared of Lord Zarkon because he happened to conceive you. Yeah, I get it Keith."

"Lance, our family... It's not right."

"We aren't our family!" Lance yelled, removing Keith's hands from his cheeks. "I'm not Alfor, and you aren't your quiznaking bastard of a father, Zarkon. Our parents history doesn't bind us, so stop making petty excuses, and just kiss me all the damn ready."

"Oh, what the hell." Keith said suddenly, grabbing Lance by the shoulders, and drawing him in. Their lips met, and both their eyes fluttered closed.

Lance went limp for a brief tick, honesty not expecting Keith to make a move. He then brought his arms around Keith's back, and pulled him closer, as Keith ran his hands through Lance's damp, white hair. They held the kiss for a few ticks before finally parting.

"Wow..." Lance mumbled in astonishment, dragging his thumb across his bottom lip, as though the event had been nothing more than a fantasy. "That was... That was pretty good... Was that your first?"

"Um..." Keith's face was completely enveloped with a crimson shade. "Y-yeah... How about you?"

"... maybe." Lance clicked his tongue, not wanting to admit his lack of experience. "... wanna, uh... wanna do that again, or..."

Keith, looking completely dumbstruck, nodded. "I mean... Sure, if you want..."

Lance placed his hands on Keith's cheeks, and pulled him in for another kiss. His lips... they felt so soft against his. The pleasure overtook Lance's every senses, so he could no longer think of anything else but the tender moment. As though nothing else mattered but him, Keith, and the way they felt toward each other... What did they feel toward each other?... Love? Was this love? Lance couldn't tell, for he still couldn't distinguish between that, and lust. Living in a sheltered home, and never longing for someone the way he longed Keith, who could blame him? All Lance knew was that he liked kissing Keith. Really, really, liked it. And he didn't want their lips to ever separate. But alas, one must breath. The two boy's lips broke once more, and Lance smirked. "Wanna go find the cabin now?" He whispered.

"Keith's eyes widened. "Um... We're still lost..." He fumbled out. "Do you know where it is?"

Lance laughed once, then shook his head. "No... No, I don't. How about... How about sleeping out here?"

"What? Outside? On the grass?"

"What? I did it all the time in the castle... It's comfy."

Keith hesitated for a tick. "And by sleeping, you mean..."

Lance blushed. "Just sleep! It's late after all. Unless you want to do more, but..."

"I-I'm good." Keith paused for a time longer than necessary, glancing down at his bare feet. "Alright... Let's go sleep." He finally managed. "Just not by this loud ass waterfall."

Lance's grin stretched from ear to ear, and he nodded in agreement. "Right. No loud ass waterfall, got it." He grabbed Keith's hand, and pulled him away from the shore. "Follow me."


	10. Screw You Blue

Lance woke to the gentle pelting of raindrops on the window. His eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he wondered was: what the hell was that repetitive, aggravating noise? Then he remembered. Oh yeah, Earth has this strange occurrence known as rain. When water vapor clouds form high in the air, and cry down upon the landscape... or something like that. Lance still didn't quite understand it. Back on Altea they had normal weather such as boiling hot rock showers. Lance didn't see in any way how water could do good for an ecosystem, but most of Earth's functions didn't logically hold reason. Perhaps that's what made it so utterly intriguing.

But more importantly, what was Lance doing here? Last thing he had remembered, he was laying outdoors, his limbs sprawled out in the grass beside Keith. They had fallen asleep together, which wasn't hard for Lance to accomplish at all. Not only was he used to sleeping outdoors, but that night he felt awfully sick. Happy, yes, as Keith finally kissed him, yet his eyelids felt heavy. Perhaps Lance attracted some sort of odd Earth infection, but it was no bother any longer. He felt much better now, stretching his arms above his head and legs under the heavy covers.

But where in the world was Keith? Lance assumed he somehow carried them both back to the cabin while he was still knocked out, but how and why? Lance looked around the dark, bare bedroom with nothing more than a queen sized bed to rest upon, and an empty, wooden dresser. Because of the rain, he couldn't tell if it was day or night. It looked pretty dark outside the windows, but that could've just been due to the abundance of gray clouds hovering above, acting as a shield from the sun's rays. And though there was a clock propped on top of the the dresser, the uninformed Altean Prince didn't know how to read Earth time, so he was basically alone on that front.

With one last yawn, Lance fell from the covers, and trudged across the creaky wooden flooring. He opened the door, and yelled out for Keith as he headed toward the kitchen for some breakfast (or whichever meal was appropriate for such a time). "Keith! You want me to make you food? We still got marshmallows, if you want!"

Lance opened the drawer, and pulled out the leftover bag of marshmallows which Shiro had provided after seeing Lance's overwhelming love for the treat. He poured them all into a bowl as he awaited a response. None came.

"Keith!" He tried again. "If you don't answer, I'll be forced to eat all these by myself." He shuffled to the fridge, and got out a carton of orange juice. Lance then proceeded to pour some of the ironically orange colored juice into the bowl amongst the marshmallows.

Still, no response came.

"Hmm... alright then, Keith." Lance placed a spoon in the bowl, and opened the fridge for two frozen waffles. "Your loss, but if you're lucky, you might get a chance to share this waffle-peanut butter-avocado-sandwich." He threw down one of the frozen waffles onto the counter, and smeared some peanut butter on it with his finger. He then took an avocado, peeled it, and smashed it on top of his creation. Placing the last waffle down, he took his two breakfasts, and steadily maneuver to the dining table.

Without bothering to use a plate, he took his waffle sandwich, and dipped it into his marshmallow stew. Lance took a bite, and mumbled in satisfaction. "Ah... The nectar of the angels."

When Lance was finished with his meal, he looked around the room to see if Keith had returned without him knowing... He hadn't. Lance was starting to get worried now.

But this was no time to get flustered! He needed to uncover Keith's hiding spot, and fast. This was a cruel prank if it was that. Keith should've known by now that Lance would grow anxious if he disappeared without any notice. Especially after last night... Oh, quiznak. A terrible thought ingrained itself in Lance's mind. Perhaps... Keith was still upset? Maybe Keith had told a bluff and didn't like Lance at all. Was it possible he had pushed Keith's boundaries? Lance didn't want to imagine the horrible possibilities. He wanted Keith to like him, not be embarrassed or angered around him. He didn't even need to have the same sort of romantic feelings that Lance held for Keith. He would be content with just staying friends, so long as Lance got to stay near him often. So long as Keith didn't run away.

Lance felt a drop of nervous sweat roll down his hair line, ending up at the brim of his nose. He wasn't quite sure what was getting him so angsty. Keith was likely just on the toilet or something... right?

Lance stood, and took long strides to the bathroom door. He knocked once, and asked in a whisper, "Keith, you in there?"

No noise came from behind the door. Lance looked down at the door knob, and saw that it was unlocked. He placed his hand around it, and began slowly turning the handle while saying, "Keith, I hope you're decent. I'm coming in." He creaked the door open to be greeted by nothing more than an empty bathroom.

"Keith!" Lance pleaded. "Stop playing around! Where the quiznak are you?"

Lance raced out the front entrance. He didn't bother to put clean clothes on to replace his boxers, or even slip a pair of shoes onto his feet. As he exited the wooden floor of the cabin onto the gravel path, he felt the mushy sludge of mud beneath his feet. The rain had picked up, and was already soaking Lance's entire body, forced his hair flat down against his scalp. He started running down the muddy pathway, doing his absolute best not to slip in the mud.

As he ran, he saw a figure further up in the distance. He squinted his eyes through the rain, and was disappointed when it turned out to be his human bud, Hunk, instead of his missing friend, Keith. "Hunk!" Lance called, grabbing the attention of the startled, yellow raincoat wearing human. "Hunk! Did you see Keith? Do you know where he is?" Lance asked frantically as he raced closer and closer to his alien friend.

"Lance! You're... you're not wearing any clothes."

"Don't be foolish, Hunk." Lance grabbed Hunk's shoulders, and shook him. "I have my boxers. Plus, that's not the concern here. Keith's missing!"

"Oh... he is?" Hunk was finally able to speak when Lance loosened his grip. "Well... I did see him earlier today. He was on the beach talking into this thing. I'm not sure where he is now. That was hours ago."

"Yes! Beach!" Lance grinned. "That's where he is! Thank you, Hunk. See you later." Lance placed a kiss on Hunk's cheek, and swiftly darted the other direction towards the ocean.

Hunk furrowed his brows, and called after him through the pouring rain. "At least put some shoes on first!" But it was too late. Lance was already long gone.

Lance rushed past tall trees, and fallen logs until he finally arrived at his destination. The wet sand felt odd against his feet, and now that he wasn't under the protection of the trees, the rain was pelting him harder than ever. Gosh... The gray swirling clouds in the sky made the day look so grim. Lance wished they would just vanish already.

"Keith!" He called, looking from one end of the beach to the other. He didn't spot any sign of life, let alone the person he was looking for. Only the muddy ground, and the vast ocean.

Lance pulled his fingers through his hair, sleeking back the damp, white strands from his face. He put his other hand on his hip, and exhaled, exhausted from all the running. Keith wasn't here. Why the Voltron wasn't he here? Hunk said he spotted him only vargas (or Earth hours) ago. What in Voltron was Keith up to?

Well, no use in standing idly by on a beach for any much longer. Lance scrambled back into the forest, and paced forward. Where was he going? He had no clue. But he was bound to stumble upon Keith eventually if he kept up his search . Maybe... These woods were pretty big after all. Keith could've been anywhere at this point. Maybe not even in camp, but Lance didn't want to think about those terrible possibilities.

It was about half a varga until Lance finally found Keith. First he heard a noise, then saw a flash of purple in the distance. Lance eyes widened, as he gazed upon Keith, who was standing in front of the cave where the two unresponsive lions rested. Keith was facing away from Lance, and didn't seem to notice him. The Galra Altean held a blue holographic device in his hand, attempting to talk into it. Lance recognized the contraption as the communication device which Keith had tried to use the first day they had crash landed. "Hello. This is Keith. Hello?" Lance heard Keith say, getting progressively more irritated with each syllable. "Come in Castle of Lions. This is Keith. I have the Prince. Giving the coordinates now."

Keith then proceeded to speak a chain of numbers which Lance assumed were the coordinates. But... why was he doing this? The device. Did Keith finally get it working?

Lance held in his gasp, and swiftly hid behind one of the thick oak trees. His heart was beating fast, and pointy ears perked as he listened to Keith's desperate attempts to get ahold of Altea.

"Hello! Come in! King, Queen. Anyone. Please, I have the Prince here with me. We need assistance. A-a ship... a wormhole... something. J-just... someone please respond. Hello? Hello! This is Keith, giving our coordinates now." He responded with the same chain of numbers as before, but louder and lower. "Alfor, Allura, Coran. Please hurry... W-were stuck here... It's been weeks. I thought you would have found us by now... come on, respond, respond!"

Keith's voice was growing shaky. Lance glanced from behind the tree, and saw the area around Keith's eyes were red and puffy. "Respond..." Keith continued. "Respond... Hello? Please respond... damn it!"

Keith turned to the lions, and stomped up to Red indignantly. He drew his foot back, and kicked the machine with the most powerful blow he could muster. When he spoke after the fact, Lance could hear the strain in his voice from the pain shooting up his leg, vibrating throughout his entire body. "Open up, Red! Stop sleeping, you quiznaking piece of scrap metal!"

Keith's cry rang out across the forest, shaking the trees, and sending the unsuspecting creatures scattering. "After all we've been through." Keith kicked Red a second time. The lion continued sitting motionlessly. "You lead me across the mother quiznaking galaxy, and trap me on this... this planet! Work, damn it. After all we've been through, this is how you repay me? You asshole!"

Keith looked back down at his holographic communicator, his body trembling. "Please... Respond... Someone please respond..." His voice switched to a helpless plea for only a moment, then burst out into a mad flurry of rage. "RESPOND, DAMN IT!"

Keith threw the device down as hard as he could and stomped on it, causing it to shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces. A stream of tears fell down Keith's face as he continuously thrusted his foot up, and slammed it down on the already broken communicator. "Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" His features were balled up, and face flushed with anger. Lance could not longer tell if it was the rain staining Keith's heated cheeks, or the tears flowing from his eyes. He made loud, ugly sobs, while stiffening his shoulders, and clutching his hair beneath his hands.

When Keith finally calmed down enough to function, he bent down, grabbed a stone about the size of his fist, and tossed it in the direction of Red's face.

The stone flew up, hit Red's nose, and bounced off harmlessly. The machine didn't even flinch. Keith grabbed a bigger rock, and hacked it up to Red's eye. Once again, it bounced back to the ground uneventfully. "You fucking ass! OPEN UP YOU COWARD!" Keith's voice trailed, as he landed another kick on Red's mechanical paw. "O...open up... pl... please!"

Keith collapsed to the ground, his arms wrapped around his throbbing leg. A tick later Keith's face fell into his palms, and chest hunched to his knees. His entire body was trembling, and his hair and clothes clung to his skin due to the dreadful rain. The clouds picked up, shooting water down so fast, it felt like bullets against Lance's skin. "Please..." Keith managed with a tired, raspy tone. "Please, just help me... I'm so lost... so, so lost."

Lance furrowed his eyebrows, and felt heat rise to the tips of his ears. Why was he so mad? He shouldn't be... Keith was sad, and Lance should've been upset because of it... but he wasn't. The thing which boiled in the deepest part of his consciousness, was anger. Hate even. How could Keith say such awful things? About being trapped on Earth, and longing to get back home. Didn't he see? Home was awful. For Lance, but especially for Keith. He was a Galra hybrid! Of course his life sucked. And what did he want to do? Crawl back helplessly to that place infested from corner to corner with undeserved prejudice, where his mother laid dead, and where people avert their children's eyes whenever he walked past. It made Lance infuriated just thinking about it. But Keith didn't care... He didn't care because of Lance. Because, that's all Keith truly wanted. To get the hell away from Lance: a self absorbed Prince, with the nag for long rants, and an aggravatingly boisterous personality. One with the sense of adventure, who couldn't stand to simply suck it up, and live a normal life as part of the royal family.

Lance felt a tear trickle down his own cheek. Or was it the raindrops falling from the sky? Perhaps a competition of both. Either way, Lance couldn't stand it any longer. He needed to confront Keith face to face, and tell him off for all he did. How he toyed with Lance's heart, right before letting it crumble in his hand, and crushing it beneath his foot.

Lance stepped from behind the tree, and took a step to the collapsed Keith. He clenched his fist, and attempted to present himself confidently, though it suddenly seemed his lanky legs were much too weak to carry his own weight. "I thought you liked it here..." Lance muttered, glaring at Keith, stone faced.

Keith's head jerked up, and he hastily scrambled to his feet. "Lance! What are you doing here? You have no clothes on, you're going to get sick."

"Don't change the subject." Lance lined his jaw. "I thought you wanted to stay here... with me."

"You heard?"

"Don't you want to start over here on Earth?... Here with me?" Lance raised his voice. "We can live together. We can have all we've ever wanted. Freedom, adventure, love-"

"When did I ever say I wanted that crap?" Keith demanded. "Don't mix up your desires for mine. You don't know what I think."

"Oh, so what? You want to go back? To that damn planet, where everyone fucking hates you? Where queens and kings lock their children in castles their entire lives? Where the rich get richer, and the poor die, and nothing ever changes? You seriously want to go back to all that? Why? What does Altea have, that Earth doesn't? You have no family there. You have no home there. You've got nothing without me!" Lance yelled, his voice so loud, it shook the ground beneath them.

Keith narrowed his eyes, and closed his taloned fists. Lance continued. "Yet you want to mosey on back? Why? I know. Because you're just too damn stubborn, aren't you Keith. You know, if you start actually trying to fit in, maybe everyone would begin treating you like an actual Altean. Yeah, I saw you shapeshift when we first arrived. You have no reason not to look like everyone else. All you're doing is flaunting your Galra ancestry, because you want to feel like a special little snowflake, don't you. Either that, or your little daddy issues engraved in your brain the fear of fitting in with others. Well, good for you! Now you get no one's approval. If you leave, you lose all this. This... this acceptance! And if you go back, all you gain is more prejudice. I hope you thought all this through, Galra."

A wave of silence overtook the two. The rain died down some, yet the atmosphere seemed to grow colder, damper, and bleaker. Lance attempted to read Keith's expression, but a dark shadow across his face made it impossible.

Lance took a deep breath in, his chest pinging with pain. "Well?..." He muttered.

Keith paused for a tick, then looked up to met Lance's eyes. He took a step forward, until his chest was only a few inches from touching Lance's. Keith's face was in a scowl, his nose wrinkled, and eyebrows scrunched together. Lance had never seen him this furious... Lance hated it.

Keith drew his arm back, and before Lance could make a move to react, Keith slammed his bawled up fist straight into Lance's face. Lance was knocked back, and instantly fell to the ground. His skin and hair stained with mud, and a nasty black circle formed around his left eye. The shock only temporarily numbed the pain however, and he soon brought his hands to his face, and screamed out in misery. "QUIZNAK! QUIZNAK, QUIZNAK, QUIZNAK! FUCK!"

Lance rolled around in the dirt, digging his nails into his scalp. "Crap, crap. It hurts. It fucking hurts!"

"I don't want anyone's approval, you idiot!" Keith yelled down at him. His yellow eyes gleamed with bloodlust. "I don't care what the hell other people think! And I don't care how they keep telling me I need to fit in. Maybe I can't, ok. So just shut up about me, and my family. You don't know shit about me, Lance, and you never will."

Lance stumbled to his feet, still holding his right hand to his swollen, black eye. When he saw Keith's strained expression, Lance felt a tingling of guilt rise inside of him. Those things he said before, he didn't truly believe. Perhaps it was just the heat of the moment that compelled him to act like such a jerk. Still, Lance wasn't going to back down just yet. Keith had still hurt him, and Lance was afraid the Galra hybrid was only going to hurt himself if he stayed on Altea any longer. Or worse. Someone was going to hurt him.

"Are you sure, Keith..." Lance mumbled, wiping the trail of blood from his chin. "You want to go back to Altea? Even if I don't follow."

Keith paused, and took a deep breath in. "Altea is where my mom is." He mumbled, turning away from the bloodied Altean prince. "Besides. It's better than spending the entire rest of my life looking after a bratty Prince with family issues."

"What?" Lance shouted. "You're saying I have family issues? Ha! Have you even looked at yourself lately?"

Keith let out laugh, letting his head fall back. The cold touch of raindrops landed on his face, and fell across his purple skin. "Yeah, you're completely right, Lance." He turned his attention back on the Prince, his face scrunched, and mouth frowned. "I do have family issues. But, you know what Lance? At least you have a family that actually gives a shit about you. Oh, and you know. Loved ones who aren't already dead."

Lance's heart sank to the floor, and chest pinged with regret. "I - I'm sorry Keit-"

"You know what's so annoying about you, Lance?" Keith asked, placing his hands on his hips, straining a smile. "The fact that you always think you're right. How you rant on and on about things you've never even experienced. Now tell me, does that make any sort of sense to you? No, no it doesn't. That's why you need to learn, your majesty, that life doesn't revolve around you. That you don't need to always butt into other people's business, and just let them handle their own crap. No one needs you, Lance. The only person you should be concerned about, is yourself. So maybe step back, and review yourself for a change. How about it?"

Lance went silent. He didn't know what else to say. His heart was dragging him down, and he felt as though he was going to collapse. Lance saw Keith turn, and take a step back into the forest. "You win, Lance." Keith muttered from over his shoulder. "When help does arrive, I'll tell them you're dead. I know that's what you would've wanted. To just disappear, correct? Well, congratulations. You're finally getting your wish. Good bye forever, your majesty. Hope you enjoy your new life."

"Keith!"

"What?"

Lance took a sharp breath in, his ears flooding with the overabundance of things he wanted to confess. But there was only one thing he could tell Keith - he had to tell Keith - before they parted ways permanently. "... I really liked you... That kiss... It was the happiest moment of my life. You were my first ever friend, and first ever love."

Keith was silent, his expression impossible to read. The murky air between them felt cold and suffocating. "Same here." Was the last thing Keith said before disappearing behind the trees, leaving Lance alone as before.

Alone, soaking wet, and lost... so terribly, horribly lost. Lance fell to his knees and began to sob. He sobbed and sobbed until there was nothing left to cry. He then looked up at the lions. Red and Blue... They didn't even give a stir. They were the ones who brought him to Earth, yet the time when Lance truly needed them, they didn't utter a sound. Leaving him terribly, horribly lost. Without a bodyguard, without a friend, without a lover, without a soul mate.

Without Keith.

Lance dug his toes in the mud, looking up at the big, blue, mechanical beast. "Screw you Blue." He muttered, sticking his middle finger skyward. A weak, pitiful gesture. "Was this your plan all along? Well, congratulations. You've succeeded."

Lance placed his hand back down, and lost himself in another fit of sobs. He cried, and cried, until the rain finally passed, and the sun fell over the horizon.


	11. Let's Raise A Cup

Allura sat in the center of the large hanger circled by the black, green, and yellow lions. She needed to gain a connection with at least one. Perhaps if she did, they could find Blue and Red. And, more importantly, Lance.

Lance... How long had it been since he first vanished? The days and nights seemed to merge together as Allura spent all her waking hours attempting to locate her lost brother. For all Allura knew, Lance could've ran away as little as a week ago, yet it felt longer than a lifetime.

Stress marks appeared in creases between the dark brown features of her face. There was absolutely no time to keep up the kingdom. She placed Coran in charge as she attempted to bond with, or find candidates who could bond with the lions. So far, the mission had turned out unsuccessful. It wasn't an easy task. The lions could be picky about their paladins, especially when the kingdom needed them most. Stubborn quiznakers, they were. It was a mystery how Lance even managed to pilot Blue, though it was historically the most accepting one.

And the bodyguard - What was his name? Keith? Yes, the Galra. Allura knew it was a mistake trusting him with protecting Lance. Four quintents, and what did he do? Followed Lance through a mysterious wormhole to who knew where. Not even the castle could track them, and that's what it was built to do! Anyone's guess to the horror the Prince could have, or could be still facing! Lance may have gotten sucked into a black hole, or ended up on a course straight into an expanding supernova.

Allura concentrated on the Black Lion. She stood, and cleared her mind of anything but the machine. Though she wasn't typically swayed by the supernatural, Allura no longer had a choice but to believe. This concerned Lance, the most important person in her life. Though they had their arguments, as all siblings do, Lance was Allura's one and only brother, and she would do anything for his safety. He was a person she would gladly take a bullet for, and only wished to see him grow into the best prince he could be.

"Please... I need you." She mumbled, a drop of sweat rolling down her cheek. "Lance. That's all I desire. To find is Lance. I won't ask for anything more, if only you grant me this one favor."

There was no response.

Allura stood, and walked to the wall. She placed a hand on the cold gray surface, then let all her anger out in a single punch. She screamed out as she gripped her bloodied hand, and saw the massive debt she had created on the wall. The entire room shook with the impact, echoing across the halls of the castle.

In that moment, the door slid opened, revealing the redheaded royal advisor, Coran. "Your majesty!" He ran to Allura's side, and inspected her injury. "Please be careful. I told you not to strain yourself so much. Even a Queen needs her beauty sleep once and awhile."

Allura hid her hand behind her dress, and furrowed her white eyebrows. They've had this conversation before. All the same useless chatter. "I need to find Lance. That's my top priority."

"Your majesty... you've been working non stop for weeks now. Don't you think it's time to let someone else take charge of the search while you rest up? Your subjects need their queen in the best shape she can be."

"My brother needs me!" Allura snapped, then took a breath to cool down. "I'm sorry Coran, but I can't. You must take care of things for me until I get everything settled. Is that clear? Oh, and please send a message to the people informing them we are searching for potential Paladins."

Coran paused for a tick, then nodded. "Yes, Queen. But please. Consider eating a meal before you continue."

And with that, Coran exited, leaving Allura alone once more. Allura walked in front of the Black lion, and closed her eyes. "I know your past... I've heard the stories of your time with Lord Zarkon. But, please. I know deep down, you are on the side of good."

No response.

"I'm on my hands and knees begging. Please, I need you. My kingdom needs you... My brother needs you... Lance... poor, poor, Lance. He's lost... I - I can't just-" Allura collapsed to the ground, face balled, and tears streaming from her eyes. "I'm so, so sorry brother! I should have never locked you in here! You were right. Everyone deserves to live their own life, and not be chained down by what their family believes is best." Allura tightened her fists around the fabric of her dress, tears, along with a bit of snot dripping from her face. She put a hand up to her nose, sniffing whilst wiping away the mess. The noises she made were anything but pleasant. Earsplitting cries, and breathing that gave off the impression of suffocation. A state unfit for a Queen, she thought. But how was she to react when the world crumbled around her?

"Oh my. What a tear jerking display of brotherly love." A voice came from behind.

Allura gasped, snapped her head back, and swiftly got to her feet. "Who the... oh my Voltron..."

"Queen Allura." Lotor smirked. "Is that any way to greet a Prince?"

"What are you doing here Lotor? My father banned you from this kingdom. Don't get any closer, or I'll call the guards."

Lotor took a step forward, holding his hands up defensively. Allura scrunched her nose at him, grabbed his wrist, and spun him around into a chokehold. His knees were slammed down forcefully onto the concrete. If Lotor was in pain, he showed no sign of it. "I said, don't get any closer." Allura growled, her voice deep and intimidating. "Why are you here?"

"Such a powerful display. I see you've inherited your mother's spirit."

"Answer me! Why are you here?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. No need to get heated. I only came here to offer my assistance."

"Ha! Yeah right." Allura scoffed. "Assistance with what?"

"Finding your brother of course."

Allura loosened her grip around Lotor's neck only slightly, and perked her brown, pointy ears. "How?"

***

Keith sat beneath the shade of a seemingly ever stretching oak, attempting to get some shut eye. He was only a few feet from Red and Blue's din. It had already been a week since his and Lance's fight. Now Keith had no idea where to go. He couldn't beg forgiveness from Shiro, Hunk, or Pidge, and he sure as hell wasn't crawling back to Lance. Keith supposed he'll just have to suck it up for the rest of his life, and live off the land. Maybe shapeshift into a human, and get a job or some crap. It wasn't as if anyone was going to rescue him anytime soon. If Allura did one day arrive, she would find Lance, take him, and never give Keith a single thought.

Perhaps Lance was right... Maybe he should've accepted Lance's invitation to live together. At least that way, they would've still had that chance of survival. And being with Lance wasn't such a bad thought. Still, it was too late now. He wanted to escape far, far away before deciding to chase after the Prince like a helpless baby in search of its mother's milk. Because, for some reason, Keith couldn't get Lance out of his mind. His stupid face, his dumb laugh, the way his nose crinkled when he smiled that terrible, gorgeous smile. The images haunted Keith like a lucid dream he couldn't quite shake.

Perhaps it was the fact that Lance was Keith's first ever friend - besides his mom that is - and, more importantly, his first ever kiss. Now, that was a moment Keith believed he could never forget. Every time he closed his eyes, Keith saw that scene play over and over again in his mind. That slow, sweet, inexperienced kiss. It was wonderful... In all his years, he never thought an Altean would like him, let alone a Altean Prince. No, he never imagined anyone liking him physically. Because, well, just look at him! He wasn't exactly a knight in shining armor. And, dang. It was a good kiss, even considering it was both their first. Like, really good. Keith only wished he could experience it at least one last time before leaving for good. During their fight, Keith had the sudden itch to grab Lance by the cheeks, and pull him in for one final kiss. Maybe he should've thought of that before hitting Lance in the face. That was a pretty douche move on Keith's part, even considering Lance's harsh words.

Keith sat up and opened his eyes. He looked from the bleak sky to the stationary lions. What time was it? Morning? Night? Keith couldn't tell with the swirling gray clouds clustered high above in the air. The scene reminded him of that night... God, he felt awful. Like some force was attempting to dig his eyes out of their sockets.

Keith ran his nails through his hair, and yawned. He looked up once more just for the hell of it, and... what the heck? A white blur flashed behind an opening in the clouds. Keith squinted, focusing on the strange, distant object. The enormous... thing stood out considerably as it burst through the air, getting increasingly closer to Earth's surface. Almost like a ship or something... Wait a tick... It was a ship! Keith hopped up, and widened his eyes. "THE CASTLE!" He screamed. "IT'S THE CASTLE OF LIONS! LANCE, THEY FOUND US... they..."

Keith paused, looking from the lions to the ground. Right... Lance was... elsewhere.

Keith waited as a private pod was shot from the castle, and came speeding down in his direction. When it got closer, Keith saw that it was actually Queen Allura riding the vehicle. Her hair in a messy bun, eyes baggy, and face sunken. She looked awful.

Allura landed, immediately tossed the pod aside, and ran to Keith. "You! Where is he? Where is Lance?"

"Queen Allura! Um..." Keith mumbled.

Allura grabbed Keith's collar, and hoisted him off the ground. "Where is he?" She repeated more forcefully through gritted teeth.

Keith's hands flailed for his neck. He could barely breath with his shirt suffocating him, let alone talk. "He's not here!" Keith gasped, his voice distorted with the low oxygen supply. "He's not here, I swear."

Allura let go, causing Keith to fall to the ground. He landed hard which sent a wave of pain coursing from his hands down to his feet. Keith didn't have much time to recover however, as Allura slammed his body down on the ground with her high heeled foot, and held him there, hovering over him with an evil scowl. "Then where is he?"

"He's um..." Keith didn't know what to say. Should he rat Lance out? That didn't seem smart. Lance was too stubborn, and Keith knew he would rather die before going back to Altea. Keith couldn't tell Allura. He just couldn't. But still... What else was he to say? What was a believable excuse? Keith knew the only one which would work, yet he didn't want to think about it... Still, it must be done. For Lance's sake... One last friendly gesture before they officially part ways. "Lance... He didn't make it."

"D-didn't... What? What are you saying? I- I don't believe you! What happened? Didn't make it where?" Allura pushed her foot harder against Keith's chest. His lungs gasped for air.

"We crash landed. The lions broke down, and he was flung into the ocean. I attempted to recover his body... but he was eaten by one of the creatures."  A grotesque image, yet a necessary measure. Keith couldn't have her looking for the body.

"How the hell am I supposed to believe a story like that?" Allura's eyes became watery. "Ocean? W-what is that?"

"It's the mass of blue liquid that populates the majority of this planet. When Blue was being drawn in by the gravity, he broke down somehow, and ejected Lance into the sea. I didn't have time to save him, because Red also stopped responding. But, Red didn't drop me."

"WHY NOT!" Allura demanded. Tears streamed down her red, puffy eyes, yet she still managed to sound intimidating.

"I'm not sure! Maybe it's because I've... I've been with Red longer, so we had a stronger bond."

Allura widened her eyes, her brown face going pale. "You've been with... Excuse me? How long have you been Red's Paladin?"

"Um... Since..." Keith swallowed back his nerves. "About... when his majesty took back Voltron from Lord Zarkon."

Allura gasped, and quickly removed her foot from Keith's chest. She was in shock for only a tick, then seemed to remember the far more important, troubling news. "Of course... That's why Father chose you..." Allura's knees shook until she couldn't hold herself up any longer. She collapsed to the ground, and clenched her fists in the dirt. Her eyes looked forward, but at the same time, saw nothing. A expression of one's soul crumbling into dust and drifting away with the wind. "You were a part of Voltron alongside Father... And Lance... He was destined to pilot Blue. But... but, this..."

Allura burst out into a fit of sobs. She didn't need to say any more. Keith understood her feelings completely. Because he ran, Lance discovered his true potential as a Paladin. The potential that he would have known sooner, if only his family gave him access to more. But since they locked Lance away, an awful chain of events unfolded. Allura lost her brother, Alfor lost his son, Lance lost his home, and Keith lost his only friend. His love

If only. A powerful pairing of words. If only...

Keith sat up, and bowed his head. He felt a lump forming in his throat, but suppressed it. Keith had already cried enough tears. Lance wasn't dead. He was here, where he wanted to be. And Keith. He was going home, just like he wanted to do. But... Why did he feel so... lost?"

***

A time later, Keith found himself on Altea standing in the very back corner at Lance's funeral. How long had it been? A week? A month? And yet, Keith couldn't get Lance off his mind. Especially now, the throne room decorated in white ribbons, and dreary black curtains. A cluster of mourning Castle residents, and branches of royal cousins, uncles, aunts, grandmas, grandpas, and more, standing around an empty coffin.

Allura silently wept as she held tightly to her father's arm. Everyone was dressed in all black, including Keith, which wasn't much of a deviation from his usual getup. The atmosphere was dreadfully grim, yet Keith somehow found himself angry more than anything. These people... did they even know Lance? Who he truly was on the inside, behind the layers of kingly clothes and snarky remarks? His interests, personality, passions? How he liked spooky stories, or drifting off in the grass, letting the sounds of nature rock him to sleep. Even Allura or Alfor. How well did they understand Lance? Not very, judging from the newly 'dead' Altean Prince's attitude. And yet, here they all were. Mourning a complete stranger.

It made Keith sick. He wanted to scream out, protest, something to call out the kingdom's wrongdoings. To tell them this was all their fault, and how if only they gave a tick to connect with Lance, and not attempt to change every aspect about him, this living nightmare would've never been! Keith and Lance would have never gotten into a fight, and the kingdom wouldn't have had to shed fake tears of grievance. It was all their fault...

Keith clenched his taloned knuckles. Why was he feeling this way? A few weeks ago he would have argued against himself. But, after all the time spent away from Lance, he seemed to grasp a better understanding of the Prince's situation. That terrible longing feeling for the outside world. That sense of adventure that sorely lacked trapped between these grand castle walls. That was the same way Keith felt. He wanted to be free. Free to be who he was, and not be judged for it. Just like Lance had described. A world of equal opportunity for all.

Those words rang over and over again in Keith's head. Even now, he saw the other Alteans eyeing him accusingly. They were all hunched around the coffin, yet no one seemed to wander anywhere near Keith. They were likely wondering what a Galra was doing at a royal funeral in the first place, and had no clue of Keith's many achievements during the war. No one ever knew... Everyone erased those terrible memories from their heads, and decided to keep the secrets of Voltron undiscovered for decades to come. Life seemed easier that way. Much more black and white.

No one would ever appreciate Keith, the same way no one would ever understand Lance. Well, with one acceptation. Did Keith understand Lance? With the distance and their time apart, he seemed to. Keith only wished this reconciliation happened sooner. Perhaps... Keith would have been persuaded to stay.

"Thank you all for coming." Allura spoke, holding her golden cup of dark, red liquid high in her hand. She stepped in front of her father, and grabbed everyone's attention. "The kingdom... We are all sharing the same grievances. This... this tragic event-" The queen's voice began to waver. It must have taken so much courage to speak at all. Keith hadn't had the chance of seeing her since she first arrived on Earth to find Lance, but he had a nagging suspicion of what she was up to. Crying most likely, and praying desperately for all of this to be untrue. Some sort of mad trickery with perception. He could relate. Keith wanted all of this to be a dream as well.

"So, let's... let's raise a cup... and honor the... the life of-" Allura's cup fell from her aquiver palm, crashing down onto the white, tiled, throne room floor. The golden cup rattled, the drink which it held splattering across the blue carpet, and at a handful of guest's feet. Everyone gasped, then feel silent. Allura had ceased all movement.

Alfor paused, then attempted to reach his daughter's shoulder. Allura pushed him away. "I- I apologize... I have to go..."

Allura ran. Her heels passed over the spilled drink, down the steps, and out the door. The guests all turned with blank expressions, and shared startled, thoughtless whispers. Without a tick of hesitation, Keith chased after Allura.

He found the Queen huddled in the corner of a secluded part of the castle. Her arms were tied around her knees, and she was whispering a sequence of uncompromisable murmurs. Keith knelt down next to her, but reverted his eyes, unsure of how to act. "Queen... I-"

Allura flung her arms around Keith's shoulders, and pulled him in. Her face fell into the crook of his shoulder, making it wet from all the tears. "I'm sorry!" She wailed. "I'm so, so sorry!"

Allura tightened her grip, her nails digging into Keith's back. Keith sat frozen in shock for a brief moment, then moved to place his arms around the Queen. He didn't need to say a word. Sometimes actions held a bigger weight than words. And in this case, all Allura needed was someone to hold. "I'm sorry." She repeated, more broken than before. "Please forgive me. I wish I could- I wish I could do it all over again. Please... I'm sorry!" Keith could no longer tell if it was himself Allura was speaking too, or the projection of Lance through him.

Keith felt the lump in his throat expand, and eventually take over. They both sat there for a long while, wordlessly letting their emotions slip and consume them. It wasn't until what felt like vargas later, Keith was finally able to speak. "Don't worry Allura. I'll make everything right again."

Allura sat back up straight, facing Keith directly. Her eyes were narrowed, but still foggy. "What are you-"

"I've made up my mind." Keith responded vaguely. He couldn't explain now, but she would soon understand. The whole kingdom would soon understand. Keith needed to bring Lance back. If not that, then at least make amends. "Allura, set a course for Earth."


	12. Hefty Fee

"Please, Lance." Pidge begged in a sympathetic tone. "It's been two weeks. Are you still not talking?"

"There's nothing to talk about." Lance muttered, skipping another pebble across the water. It hopped once, twice, then plunged into the sea. Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro all stared at him with troubled expressions. Lance wasn't sure why they thought asking for answers for the millionth time would result in a different outcome. For two weeks, he spoke nothing of Keith's sudden disappearance, or the space invasion headline.

A week ago, cameras picked up the mysterious floating castle in the sky, that baffled all. It was here one dobash, then gone the next. No human could explain the occurrence, but Lance was no human. The facts were undeniable. The Castle of Lions had found Earth, and picked up Keith along the lions. Just what Lance had hoped for... Or at least he believed he hoped for.

"I have to go." Lance said, not giving his friends the briefest of glances. All he wanted was to be alone, what was wrong with that? Lance had a lot on his mind... Was it so hard to find a bit of privacy?

Pidge held up a finger and opened her mouth, then closed it into a thin line. She knew pressing Lance any further was useless. Shiro placed his prosthetic limb on her shoulder, and let out a tired sigh. "It's ok, Pidge. Let's give him some space for now."

Pidge paused, then nodded. Hunk looked at her, then to Lance, whose eyes were still reverted to the water. Hunk's headband clung to his tan, sweat speckled forehead, and t shirt draped around his rounded belly. Lance could tell he wanted to say something. He wasn't one to leave a friend in need, but Shiro's words were clear. Hunk nodded, and followed Shiro and Pidge back to their cabin.

Once again, Lance was alone. The former Altean Prince picked up another stone, and dragged his thumb across the smooth surface. He tossed it up in the air, caught it, then tossed it far across the water, toward the horizon. It landed into the sea with a small plop, not giving the satisfying skip Lance desired.

Lance no longer held the strength or willpower to pick up another. He felt sad, yet his eyes shed no tears. They seemed to have dried out in the past few weeks. The bruise Keith had left on his skin was recovered, yet he could still feel the tingle of anger it left behind. A small part of him wished it had remained. Now, Lance's heart was nothing but an empty shell. So tired and fed up to bother expressing any sort of emotion. He still felt, sure, but outwardly, he was a blank slate.

Lance couldn't stop thinking of Keith. Oh, Keith. That damn purple shit head, who tugged on, played with, than severed Lance's delicate strings of love. As he sat down in the sand, he imagined Keith squatting down next to him. It was as if he was there. His purple bangs gentle blowing in the wind, and eyes glowing brightly as always. Yet, instead of the deep, distant sadness which normally plagued Keith's gaze, Lance instead saw a look of contempt. Why was that? Perhaps Keith was finally happy to get away as he always wanted. Perhaps the absence of Lance had finally smoothened the hybrids conscience. Either way, Lance's chest pinged with sorrow.

The phantom Keith began to hum a tune. Lance recognized the song from his childhood. It was a distant memory, like reconnecting strings of thought from a past lifetime. Lance, the younger Lance, was sitting beside his Father and Sister. It was before the war, and before his life was flipped upside down with the death of his mother. This was a different Lance. A young, carefree Lance, who longed for attention, rather than pushed it aside. He ran along the field of purple juniberry's while singing the words to his favorite nursery rhyme terribly out of tune. " _Little Troll, Little Troll. Don't mind your family. They will love you, so long as you hide._ "

The awful words engulfed Lance, sending a shiver down his spine. Back then, he was unsure of what the lyrics meant. Now that he was older, he understood all too well. The tale reminded him of Keith's. They will love you, so long as you hide. He imagined Keith shape shifted fully Altean. Shapeshifting... That dreadful mask which Lance had insisted Keith should wear. He couldn't swallow back his guilt.

The younger Lance continued across the field, his stubbly legs skipping joyfully across the garden. The phantom Keith sung along to the song beside him. It sounded like a distant echo, haunting his thoughts, and reminding Lance of all his wrongdoings. " _Can't possibly love ugly children. Hide that hideous face, and shield their glaring eyes._ "

Lance ducked his head into an overgrown bush. Why was he going in there, Lance wondered. An anxious feeling swelled up inside him. He saw Keith give him a malicious smirk from the corner of his vision, that eerie contentment still present on his face. Without reverting his eyes, Keith clicked his tongue and continued the song. " _You are unlike them, so wear the mask of beauty. But it has a hefty fee."_ The last line repeated in Lance's mind. _Hefty fee... It has a hefty fee._

" _Wear the mask, wear the mask, over that face of shame. To bury all your secrets so they will love you unconditionally._ "

Keith's face appeared before him. But not the Keith he knew. A younger version. One with an eager bounce in his step, and mind full of hopes and dreams. Lance muffled back a gasp, as the scene vanished before him, and the air went silent.

Lance was completely still, expression still in awe from what he had just witnessed. He turned to the phantom Keith next to him, who was giving him the same old sly smile. "You-" Was all Lance managed before Keith lifted his hand, and drew a circle in the air.

Suddenly, the scene changed around him. He was no longer on the beach, and more peculiarly, was no longer himself. He looked to the world through the eyes of the young Galra Altean, Keith. Lance felt the gentle breeze of the forest rustle Keith's fur, causing goosebumps to appear across his bare arms. Keith rubbed his paws against his skin in search for warmth. He was moving towards a building in the distance. A cabin with copper brown wood and dust speckled window pains. It was surrounded by a bundle of green leaves, and tall tree trunks leaning uncomfortably close to the structure. A narrow, gravel pathway was the only thing which guided the young Keith towards the front entrance. Lance didn't like the odd sense of anticipation as Keith raised his hand to turn the knob.

Unsure why, Lance had a abrupt nag to call out: "No! Turn away!" But the pleading was useless. This was a memory. No way of altering what had already come to be. All Lance could do was sit back, and watch in agony as the door slowly crept open.

Lance couldn't handle what he saw next. A dark musty room, with only the faintest beams of light shining through the grimy windows. But the figure hanging from the ceiling was clear. A young Altean woman swung back and forth gently by her neck. Her body was limp, and gown draped down, barely brushing against the hardwood cabin's floor. Her jet black hair clung to the sides of her cold, colorless cheeks. But the worst part was the eyes - oh, those eyes - irises white, and unmoving. A stalking phantom in the night, like the stories that churned Lance's insides as a child. But this was no ghost tale. This was real. All too real. As was the monstrosity in armor stalking emotionlessly in the corner, his yellow eyes ablaze, and scarred, purple skin outlined in the dim light.

Lord Zarkon.

Lance attempted to scream, but no sound came. The image dissolved and Lance found himself - once again - sitting in the sand, looking out to the clear, blue horizon. His bugged eyes seemed impossible to close; like it was still attempting to process information after it had already passed. From next to him, he heard a laugh. Lance's heart dropped as he turned. The phantom... It was still here. The shell of Lance's former friend. But, why was he laughing? The phantom's shoulders bounced up and down, and he saw a tear trickle down its smooth, purple cheek. "W-why are you..." Lance stuttered, a lump forming in his throat. "S-stop that! This isn't funny!"

The laughing only got louder. It was now coming from all angles, overwhelming Lance. His arms flew to his ears, and eyes closed shut. "STOP!" He pleaded. "STOP TORMENTING ME!"

Keith's laugh shot through Lance's hands, and echoed inside Lance's head. He could no longer see, smell, or touch. All that remained was the earsplitting sound of Keith's maniacal chatter. It flung itself frantically inside the young Prince, causing Lance's brain to jitter with movement. He couldn't hear his own voice as he painstakingly begged the end to his suffering. "KILL ME! JUST KILL ME ALREADY!"

Everything went silent. Lance paused before blinking his eyelids open, and shakily removing his hands from his ears. He saw Keith once more, but his expression had vastly altered. It looked... pained. A strangely living emotion for such a non living creature. The phantom was in mourning, and Lance then realized, so was he. They looked into each other's eyes with the same longing gaze, and held it there for longer than customary. Lance couldn't hold back any longer. He reached his hand out for Keith's cheek, but as his fingers reached the Galra Altean's skin, Lance slipped right through. A sensation similar to an electric shock prickled his skin. Lance drew his hand back, as he watched Phantom Keith disappear into a cloud of flying petals, and vaporize into the air. Lance paused, took a deep breath, and collapsed down onto the sand.

Lance's eyelids grew heavy, his body still trembling in fear. He wanted to assure himself that what he saw was only an illusion, but then he remembered; all that Lance had seen, it was reality. A past reality, which effected both his, and everyone's present.

Lance was about to fall asleep when from the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red. Lance narrowed his eyes, and raised a curious brow. What the heck... He could have sworn- no! That was impossible. Lance sat up, and placed a palm to his throbbing temple.

Lance gazed back up at the sky, and saw the flying object once more. His eyes nearly bugged from his head. The Red Lion! But... that couldn't be true. It was all only a vision, same as the phantom Keith and those awful childhood memories. It simply couldn't be...

Before Lance could close his eyes in attempt to block out the mirage, the Red Lion landed with a loud thunk. It's claws dug into the sand, and head bobbed once before lowering to the ground. The creatures massive jaws opened, and a muscular figure stepped from it. Lance's heart sped to a sprint, his lungs pulsing rapidly against his rattling ribcage. No, no. It's only an illusion, he lectured himself. Don't be fooled.

The figure paused, and sucked in a shaky breath. His tensed gaze was locked on Lance, his finicky hands reaching for something, yet finding nothing at his sides. Replacing his Earth clothes, Keith wore the usual royal uniform, fit for all attendants of the castle. It was weird seeing it after all this time. Like a relic from the past. Lance clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palm. He took a breath, forcing himself to avert his gaze. Whatever trickery his brain was scheming, Lance wouldn't be fooled.

"Lance..." The figure murmured in a disbelieving tone, taking a weary step closer.

Lance shook his head furiously, attempting to get his brain back into working order. Why did Keith sound so real? So familiar...

"Lance, it's me..." Keith spoke up once more, inching closer and closer. Lance wanted to shout, tossing Keith into the sea. He wanted to run to him, and fling his arms around Keith's broad shoulders. To grab a rusty knife, and slit the hybrid's neck. To grab him by his cheeks, and drawing him in for a long, drawn out kiss. Lance was unsure of how to react, even if this was legitimate.

Lance shifted on the balls of his feet, his fingers twitching at his sides. He watched as Keith, teary eyed, ran up to him. "Lance, I-" He began, moving his hand for Lance, but swiftly drawing back. Up close, he looked so real... Almost as if Lance could touch him without his fingers falling through.

"I-" Keith stuttered once again. He seemed to be unsure of what to say. His bottom lip trembled, and pupils grew fuzzy. Such a sad expression. Lance liked it even less than the smug face of the previous illusion. So real, so heart churning. It gave Lance the nag to reach out, and comfort him.

Lance raised a weary palm, and moved it to Keith's cheek. Expecting the outcome to be the same as before, he took a deep breath in, and placed his cold, shivering hand on Keith's skin. Lance's eyes widened, and jaw fell open. His body was a solid mass. Lance gasped, biting back the urge to yelp. No, it couldn't be... But it was. Somehow, against all rhyme or reason, Keith was before Lance now, flesh, blood, and all. "Keith..." He whispered, still not believing his eyes.

"Lance..." Keith strained a smile, placing his palm where Lance's hand rested on his cheek.

"Keith." Lance repeated, removing his hand, narrowing his eyes, then finally smacking Keith across the face. The Galra Altean stumbled back in shock, his eyes now wide in alert.

A tick later Keith straightened back up, and rubbed the back of his neck timidly. "I suppose that's fair..." He let out a halfhearted chuckle, a nasty, dark purple imprint left behind on his skin.

Lance jumped foreword, his arms wrapping around Keith's shoulders, bringing him in for a hug. Lance nearly suffocated the boy in his death grip, letting his head fall into the crook of Keith's neck. Keith went limp for a brief moment, then raised his hands to Lance's waist, pulling him in closer. Lance's body trembled, and his breath was shaky against Keith's skin. In no more than a murmur, he asked, "Am I going insane?"

"God, I hope not." Keith's voice cracked with every syllable.

Lance and Keith held each other perhaps longer than necessary, yet Lance didn't ever want to let go. Not again. Never again. He couldn't bare to be apart from his knight for any much longer. The last two weeks had been torture. And this? This was beyond Lance's wildest imaginations. His fists clutched the material on the back of Keith's uniform, before finally letting go. When Lance's senses finally resurfaced, he noticed the trail moisture trailing down his cheeks. Guess he still had tears left to shed after all. Keith saw this, and brushed his thumb under Lance's eye, wiping away the tears. Lance saw that Keith was weeping just as much as himself, and did the same.

They stood there in silence for a good dobash, staring dumbly into each others eyes, and smiling like giddy children. But, perhaps that's all they were. Giddy children.

Lance's gaze trailed down to Keith's lips, then back to the yellow illumination of his eyes. Keith only had a tick to flush, before Lance placed one hand behind his back, and the other around his waist, dipping him down. Keith's head was inches from touching the sand, and he placed his arms around Lance's neck to keep himself up. Lance and Keith's lips met, sending Lance's brain into overdrive. It was difficult for the long limbed, lanky Prince to hold up the muscular war veteran for a long period of time, but he somehow managed. Perhaps it was the sudden rush of the moment.

Finally, after a good long while, Lance swung Keith's upper half back into a standing position, and let his lungs take a breather. The two boy's faces were as bright as the sun. The moment was so magical, Lance had nearly forgotten his anger. He supposed he could save that grievance for another time. Right now, Lance's knight was in front of him, and that was all he needed.

Lance was so engrossed in Keith in fact, that he didn't notice the soggy eyed figure only a few feet behind the aforementioned Galra Altean. Allura, white locks pulled up messily into a bun, dress spotted with grime, face sunken and sickly, watched their exchange in silence. She wore a small, knowing smile, her expression tired, yet satisfied. Lance held back a sob, as he met his sister's gaze. "A-Allura..." He mumbled, taking a hesitant step forward.

"I missed you brother." Allura managed, holding her arms out, prompting Lance to come closer.

Lance nearly stumbled over his own feet as he burst into a sudden sprint. He collapsed into Allura's arms, and hugged her tight. Keith watched with a fond grin. "I'm, so, so, sorry Lance." She whispered, voice even shakier than his own. "You were right. You were always right."

Lance didn't say anything more. There was no need to. Whatever Allura was sorry for, it didn't matter. Though Lance never believed he would feel the way he did, his emotions were certain. He had missed Allura. He missed his father, his sister, his mother, and most of all, he missed his home.


	13. What We Are

The throne room looked splendidly colorful with blue and white satin draped across the windows, golden plates and silverware lining the elongated table meant to seat a village, and guests in lavish costumes chatting, laughing, and dancing away throughout the grand hall. The liveliness of it all gave the castle an upbeat atmosphere, sorely lacking during the funeral (no surprise). It was a party of a lifetime. The first ever, back from the dead type celebration. And though he wasn't typically a fan of clustered gatherings with loud music and even louder decoration, Keith found himself enjoying every dobash.

Keith sat silently in the corner of the hall, a fizzed drink in his hand, and tie around his neck. Contempt with laying low, he watch as the others enjoyed the festivities. To Keith's left, next to the room's entrance, he caught sight of Hunk and Pidge. Hunk was ogling over the trays of Altean specialties: tasty treats lined around a silver platter, and drinks with an unending amount of bubbling carbonation. Pidge ran her hand across the wall, her eyes bugging behind her round glasses. Ever since they arrived back on Altea, Pidge had done nothing more than drool over the advanced technology, and the little functions that made up the Castle of Lions.

To Keith's right, he saw Shiro chatting with Allura beside her throne. The older man's prosthetic arm was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, and Keith saw his face was flushed a light shade of pink. They both laughed over a joke Allura told, and met each other's eyes longingly. Well, that was an odd pairing, but Keith supported it. Everyone has a special someone who makes their heart jump, so who was Keith to interfere? Speaking of which, Keith glanced over at Lance.

The Altean Prince nudged the royal advisor, Coran playfully, his posture a bit slack, and eyes blurry. He likely had one too many fizzy drinks. Coran's eyes lit up, as he twirled his bushy mustache with a smile. Being like a second father to Lance, he was glad to finally have his favorite Prince back.

Keith smirked, and took another sip of his drink. When it was done, he placed it down on a nearby hovering tray, and heard the faint buzz of it as it flew off. Keith's eyes couldn't be torn away from Lance. The Altean's face looked so bright and happy. Keith loved the expression he wore. It suited him well.

"Nice party, isn't it comrade?" Alfor smiled, placing a palm on Keith's shoulder.

Keith nearly jumped from his boots. He turned to face Alfor, and hastily bowed. "Your majesty."

The king let out a chuckle, and shook his head, his long, white beard wagging. "No need for that, Keith. We've been through so much together. You've reached the point where you can address me as Alfor."

Keith nodded, and smiled. The exchange reminded him of an earlier time with another certain royal. "I apologize, Alfor." He continued, his smile fading. "For not following through on my task, that is."

"Your task?"

"Yes. You assigned me that task of watching over Lance, and I failed. I let him get out of my sights, and run away." Keith explained, though he wasn't actually sorry. If he could do it over again, he would've let Lance find Blue. Though there were ups and downs, ultimately Keith had never felt happier. Loved by the kingdom, loved by Allura and Alfor, and most of all, loved by Lance.

Alfor let out another laugh, the wrinkles that lined his forehead and eyes creasing. "I assure you, there is no reason to be sorry. No one could have stopped Lance. The real bravery came when you decided to follow after him to an uncertain destination, risking your own life just to make sure he was ok. Most would simply give up, and conclude he was beyond the point of help."

But he never needed helping, Keith thought, all he needed was freedom.

"So, I thank you Keith. For once again doing everything in your power to help me. For protecting, being by Lance's side until the very end, and never giving up on him."

But I did give up on him, Keith wanted to say, but didn't have the courage. He still couldn't shake the awful memory of their fight in the woods, and Keith's fist driving into Lance's face. It was a ruthless thing which Keith wholeheartedly regretted.

"You know." Alfor continued in a hushed voice, smiling maliciously in Lance's direction. The Prince wobbled over to Shiro and Allura, and was currently cutting into their 'steamy' exchange. "Ever since you two returned, Lance has spoken of you non stop."

Keith blushed, and glanced over at Alfor's son. The Altean Prince met his eyes, waved, and smiled brightly from ear to ear. This only made Keith's face blush further. Keith gave a small grin back, and turned back to the King. "His face lights up when he speaks of you." Alfor explained. "His eyes sparkle, and posture straightens. He's quite fond of you, comrade."

"As I am fond of him." Keith mumbled.

"Oh? Is that so?" Alfor arched his white, bushy eyebrow, causing the saggy skin above it to bunch, and wrinkle.

Keith felt himself heat up. "Yes, quite." He confirmed, a bit flustered. An odd thing to be. Keith was never this embarrassed whilst talking with the king before. He looked up to Alfor as a leader, even as a father figure.

"I see." Alfor smirked, patting Keith on the back. "Well, it was nice speaking with you, but I'm afraid I have some business elsewhere. Hope to chat with you again, Keith."

And with that, this King vanished into the crowd. A flying tray of samples hovered by, and stopped directly in front of Keith. He shooed it away, and glanced back at Lance. The boy was leaning on Shiro's shoulder. He looked as though he was bragging about Shiro on his behalf, attempting to get Allura swooning at his feet. The skin surrounding Shiro's scar was red in embarrassment, but Allura looked genuinely interested in the words her brother had to say; most of which were fibs, knowing Lance.

Keith removed his back from the wall, and rolled his eyes, though a smile still remained across his face. He looked from one side of the hall to the other, and stopped when he located the door to the balcony. A tick of peace and quiet couldn't hurt.

Keith exited the throne room, and walked out to the balcony railing. The stars were shining brightly over a pitch black night sky. Unlike inside, the space was completely silent and empty. Only the drowned out voices of distant chattering came from behind the glass doorway. A gust of wind blew, shifting Keith's fur, and causing goosebumps to appear across his arms.

Keith heard the silent click of the door handle as it opened behind him, causing the sounds of the party to spill out. A tick later, the door was closed, silencing the balcony once more. The figure, Lance, Keith assumed, walked up next to him and leaned against the railing.

"Beautiful view, isn't it brother?" A deep, familiar voice spoke.

Keith jumped back, instinctively readying into a fighting stance. That wasn't Lance. The tall, white haired Altean was Lotor, better known as the son of Zarkon, and previous pilot of the red lion. The same man who was on Earth only a while ago, pretending to be a human. "Lotor!" Keith demanded with a scowl. "What are you doing here? Have you snuck in?"

"Easy there, Paladin." Lotor closed his eyes, and scratched the back of his neck lazily. Unlike how he looked on Earth, Lotor wore pointed ears, and Altean markings under his eyes. A better shapeshifter than even Keith himself. "Allura invited me." He continued, smirking. "I'm the one who found you two on that junk pile of a planet after all."

"How did you find us?"

"You."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Keith growled, his eyebrows furrowing.

"You, but more specifically, your lion. I was once the Red Paladin, so it was quite easy locating it, despite how far you two did travel."

Keith didn't respond, only kept his narrow gaze focused on the outline of Lotor's long, slender profile in the moonlight. He wondered how Lotor's bond with Red could possibly outdo Alfor's bond with Blue. The King couldn't locate Blue, so how was this guy any different?

"Ah, yes. The good old days as a Paladin. Quite enthralling, fighting for your life whilst protecting the galaxy. Even as a kid, my father entrusted me with the heroic task of being a part of Voltron. He was the head, and I the arm. So, you could say, I was his little right hand man. A father and son duo which shan't be broken. But, alas, fate had other plans."

"Fate such as?" Keith prodded. He knew about Lord Zarkon's son piloting the Red lion. King Alfor had told a very brief tale of the red paladin's abandonment of Voltron. Before a few weeks ago, he didn't know the name, the look, or anything about this former supposed trader; only that he did bad, and went against Alfor as well as his father who, back then, was still fighting for good. But when Keith met Lotor for the first time back on Earth, the resemblance was undeniable. Those narrowed eyes, that head of pale, flowing hair, the steady, deep tone of his voice. All the traits of a former Lord Zarkon, as well as his advisor/evil sorcerer, Haggar. But why he was doing what he was doing, or acting how he was acting, was a complete mystery. Was this guy truly as bad as Alfor's story made him out to be?

"I knew of my father's plans." Lotor said. "He told me everything, the nasty schemes he had brewing, the murderous intentions he held for hundreds of innocent planets and inhabitants. All the gory details. It was all so... vile. So, inhumane."

Keith let his shoulders relax some, yet he kept his fists in front of him incase of a sudden outburst.

"So I defied him. I left Voltron in, I admit, not the purest of fashions, ending up as a trader in the eyes of Lord Zarkon, King Alfor, and the rest of this universe's society. I should have warned him - Alfor I mean - of my father's treacherous plans. But a stake to my chest was Zarkon's intention. For my life, I needed to get away as quick as possible. Beside, who would elevate a child's word above their own father's?"

"You left Voltron with one less pilot."

"Correct." Lotor nodded, his eyes fixated on the sky above. "Though the connection I had with Red remained."

"You were the reason Lord Zarkon was in search for another Paladin."

"In a way."

"And you were the reason he came to me, attempting to recruit me."

"I suppose."

A shadow fell over Keith's face, pure hatred surging inside of him. "You are the reason he killed my mother."

Lotor frowned, raising a brow, yet still not giving Keith more than a sideways glance. "What would you have preferred me to do? Assist my father with the destruction of life itself?"

Keith fell silent. Lotor's words caused his limbs to grow heavy, making it difficult to keep himself upright.

Lotor stood back up, stretching his shoulder blades with an arm roll, as well as a yawn. "Well, it was a lovely chat, brother." Lotor took long strides to the door, his hips swaying with each step. "But I believe we'll be seeing each other quite often in the near future. Besides," He smirked, eyeing the door. "I have a sneaking suspicion someone else is dying to speak with you."

Keith's gaze snapped to the glass entrance. In the doorway, he saw Lance, his features giving Lotor a questioning look.

Lotor turned the handle, and opened the door, letting the loud chatter of the party flood over the balcony. "Your majesty." Lotor gave Lance a sly smile, as well as a polite bow.

Lance narrowed his eyes at him, then shrugged. When Lotor disappeared behind him, the Prince turned to Keith, and pointed back with his thumb. "Who's that?"

"No one important." Keith said, leaning back on the rail and letting out a sigh of relief. Finally, some alone time with someone he actually wanted to be with.

Lance walked up next to Keith, wobbling slightly with each step. He held his hands out for balance before placing them on the railing. Keith looked at him up and down, frowning. Just how many drinks did he have? "Been so long since I've seen the galaxy from this angle." Lance spoke up, stare passing over the gleaming stars and constellations. "Feels surreal."

"Did you miss it?"

Lance sighed. "A little."

"Whoa! Am I hearing things correctly?" Keith's eyes widened, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. "Prince Lance, actually missing the Castle of Lions? Wow, you are out of it, your majesty."

Lance playfully pushed his elbow into Keith's arm. "Shut up." He teased, laughing slightly.

"Well, I'm already sick of this place."

"Oh, is that so?" Lance chuckled, dragging a finger up Keith's forearm. "What poetic justice. The tides have turned, I see."

Keith blushed, eyeing Lance's pointer finger dragging up and down his skin. He took Lance's hand in his own to get him to stop, but mostly because he wanted to hold hands. He only hoped that no one was watching from behind the door to see their cheesy exchange. Keith still wasn't used to being all lovey dovey in public, or even in general. Before Lance, no one else had wanted him.

Lance grinned maliciously, squeezing Keith's hand tighter in his grasp. He inched closer, and focused his attention back skyward. No more than a tick later, his smile faded. "I'm sorry."

Keith's stomach tightened. He was not anticipating such an out of nowhere apology. Keith wasn't even sure what it was for. In fact, Keith himself had a number of things he wanted to apologize for. "There's no reason for you to be sorry."

"Don't deny it." Lance huffed, looking apologetic for both himself and Keith. "Three weeks ago, I said awful things. About... shapeshifting, and junk. How you needed to change yourself if you wanted to fit in."

"Oh... yes, that." Keith's voice trailed. Those words felt toxic back then. Yet, looking back on it, the event felt like nothing more than a distant memory. The hurt had faded, and other emotions had taken its place. The sadness of separation, the longing to be loved as he was before, and finally, the joy of reconnection. "It's ok. It's kinda true anyway." Keith concluded in a mutter.

Lance shook his head violently. His crown glistened in the moonlight, and messily kept, white hair swayed in the wind. The picture of perfection. "But it isn't true. Well... I, mean. Maybe some people would believe that, but who cares what they think? You don't need anyone's approval, or their lousy acceptance. All you need to do, is look the way you want to look. To be completely yourself, and not how others choose to shape you. I should know." Lance turned his attention over his shoulder towards the door. Inside he spotted King Alfor and Allura chatting, a drink in both their hands. "I was poking around in your business too much to see that you and me have the same problem." He turned back to Keith, and met his gaze. "We were both being held back because of what we are."

Keith's focus couldn't break away from Lance's eyes. His pupils seemed to change color with every passing tick. At one point being a dark shade of blue, and the next sparkling with a pink and yellow glimmer. Lance's nose crinkled as he grinned, tightening his hand around Keith's even further. "Besides," He continued in a whisper. "It wasn't the phony Keith which I fell for, but the one standing right here in front of me."

Keith paused, then let out a laugh. "So poetic." He snorted, only making Lance's face brighten farther.

When Keith's laughter finally died down, he brushed his thumb across Lance's cheek, pulling him in for a kiss. Their eyes closed, the distant chatter from the party's festivities drowned out by the feeling of Lance's lips on Keith's.

A boom sounded in the distance. Keith and Lance parted, and jumped to attention. They looked out towards the landscape to see a show of colorful sparks flying in the air, and vanishing before reaching the ground. Another few sparks flew up, and expanded in the air. The night sky dazzled with blue, red, green, and every other color imaginable. Keith gazed up in awe. What in Altea...

"Fireworks!" Lance yelped, practically jumping up and down in joy. "Pidge helped us set them up, aren't they amazing?"

"They're... wow." Keith had no words. From all the explosions he witnessed as a Paladin, none were quite this beautiful.

Lance flung his arm around Keith's shoulder, pulling the two so close, their sides touched. They looked out in amazement for a while, watching the colors dance in the air. Below, villagers were racing out of their homes and cottages, blissfully reaching their hands up, attempting to touch the flying show of lights. It really was a sight to see.

Beside him, Lance began to hum a tune. Keith craned his neck to the side, and gave Lance a questioning glance. "What are you singing?" The song felt familiar... eerily so.

"Oh, just an old nursery rhyme." Lance responded with a shrug, and knowing smirk. "Had it stuck in my head all day. You really don't remember?"

"The song?" Keith asked, puzzled. "Should I?"

"I'll explain later." Lance assured. "Or perhaps the memory will come to you. Don't fret, Keef."

"Keef? What the Voltron has gotten into you? How many drinks do you have?"

"Only a few." Lance huffed, his words a bit slurred.

Keith rolled his eyes, and looked back up at the spectacle. "So... Planning on staying?" Keith mumbled, leaning his body into Lance's.

"In the castle? Hell to the no. I'm planning on seeing the far reaches of the universe. How about you?"

"Me? Well... I'm not sure. Maybe travel across space, helping people along the way. If I find the right crew, that is."

"The right crew?" Lance craned his neck, looking past his shoulder to the door. He saw Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Coran all gathered in a cluster behind the glass entrance way, looking giddily at their exchange. When they saw Lance and Keith's eyes spot them, they scattered behind the wall, but kept the upper half of their heads poked out, determined to keep watching. "How's that bunch for you?"

Keith chuckled, and gave his friends a little wave before turning back to Lance. "I think we'll make the best motherquiznaking crew of all time."

"We'll?"

"What? You think I wouldn't include you?"

"Naw, just checking." Lance laid his head down on Keith's shoulder. Keith placed his cheek atop Lance's mess of white hair. He took it back: he was used to being lovey dovey. Lance somehow compelled Keith to say the cheesiest lines, and smother the Prince with the most love his black hole of a heart could muster. If this was what love felt like, Keith adored it

"So." Keith mumbled. "Travel the galaxy together?"

"It's a date." Lance confirmed.

In the distance, Keith saw a flash of red and blue shoot into the air. His eyes widened. Those weren't fireworks! The red and blue lions maneuvered side by side across the sky, looping around each other, and putting on a show for the both of them, as well as the villagers below. "Red?" Keith gasped.

"Blue?" Lance added.

"They're working?"

"Those sons of bitches." Lance narrowed his eyes. "Do you think this was their plan all along?"

Keith thought about it, a shadow falling over his face. "Lord Voltron, I think you're right."

Both Lance and Keith burst out laughing. Keith felt Lance's shoulders bounce, and saw his eyes sparkle. "Those evil masterminds."

Three more figures appeared from below. A flash of black, green, and yellow joined the others high in the sky, dancing circles around each other. The door opened behind Keith and Lance, and their friends exited, crowding around them to see the show. "Oh, my." Allura gleamed. "Their future Paladins are close, they can feel it."

Coran twirled his thick, orange mustache, the creases on his face wrinkling with his smile. "Yes, I do believe they're quite close." He confirmed, eyeing the three humans.

"What? Really? Aw, sweet." Pidge's hand shot up. "I call the black lion."

Green roared in the distance, sending a shockwave throughout the castle. "Or, the green one. That's good too." Pidge rubbed the back of her neck nervously, adjusting her glasses that flew out of place.

Lance and Keith stood, their hands re-locking. "New Paladin's of Voltron?" Lance asked, holding up his other palm for Pidge to take.

"Hells to the yes!" Pidge nodded excitedly, taking Lance's hand. "Wait until Matt hears about this!"

Hunk took Pidge's other hand, and Shiro took his. Allura and Coran stood behind the five, a proud look across both their faces. The lions flew up in triangle formation, roaring in unison as the final wave of fireworks painted the sky.

Paladin's of Voltron? Keith liked the sound of that. He glanced over at Lance, then to the rest of his crew. Yes, this truly was the greatest team in the galaxy.

The End


End file.
